Tangsuyuk (Korean Sweet and Sour Pork)

Method12 steps · about 1 hr 35 min

1. 1

   Step 1: Put the 1¼ cups batter starch and 1 cup batter-soaking water in a medium bowl. Gently flatten the starch beneath the water with a spatula without mixing or whisking. Leave for 10–20 minutes until the starch has settled and the water is clearly separate; prepare the other ingredients while it settles.

   Let the batter starch settle beneath its soaking water · 20 minUses 1¼ cups potato starch or corn starch for batter · 1 cup water for soaking batter starch, poured off after settling

2. 2

   Step 2: Combine the pork strips with all the rice wine (1 tbsp), 1 tsp marinade soy sauce, fine sea salt (1 tsp), ½ tsp ginger powder or minced ginger, and a few sprinkles of black pepper. Mix well and keep refrigerated until the batter is ready.

   Uses 500 g pork loin, cut into thin strips about 1 cm × 5 cm · 1 tbsp rice wine or cooking wine · 1 tsp regular soy sauce for marinade · 1 tsp fine sea salt · ½ tsp ginger powder or minced ginger · A few sprinkles of ground black pepper

3. 3

   Step 3: While the batter starch settles, cut the pineapple (150 g), onion (½), yellow and red bell peppers (½) and cucumber into small chunks and thinly slice the carrot (¼). In one bowl mix the sauce water (200 ml), pineapple juice (200 ml), ¼ cup sugar, 3 tbsp sauce soy sauce and apple cider vinegar (2 tbsp). In a separate bowl mix the 2 tbsp thickening starch with the 2 tbsp slurry water. Keep both mixtures separate from the batter.

   Uses 150 g pineapple slices, cut into small chunks · ½ onion (70 g), cut into small chunks · ½ yellow bell pepper (50 g), cut into small chunks · ½ red bell pepper (50 g), cut into small chunks · ¼ English cucumber (100 g), cut into small chunks 1 cm (0.4 inch) thick · ¼ carrot (50 g), thinly sliced · 200 ml water for sweet-and-sour sauce · 200 ml pineapple juice

4. 4

   Step 4: Once the batter starch has settled, gently pour off and discard the overlying soaking water, leaving the starch sediment. Mix that sediment with the ½ tbsp batter cooking oil and the two egg whites until smooth, using a fork if the mixture is initially stiff.

   Uses Settled batter starch and its water · ½ tbsp cooking oil for batter · 2 egg whites

5. 5

   Step 5: Add the refrigerated marinated pork to the smooth starch-and-egg-white batter and mix to coat. Rest the battered pork for about 10 minutes to let its coating thicken.

   Rest the battered pork before frying · 10 minUses Refrigerated marinated pork · Smooth starch-and-egg-white batter

6. 6

   Step 6: Put a generous amount of the separate deep-frying vegetable oil in a wok or suitable deep pan, with room for bubbling and the pork. Heat to 175°C / 350°F, checking the oil temperature; the author estimates about 5 minutes for heating, but temperature determines readiness.

   Uses Vegetable oil for deep frying, such as rice bran oil

7. 7

   Step 7: Add the rested battered pork strips to the 175°C / 350°F oil one at a time in uncrowded batches. Fry each batch for about 1–2 minutes, until the coating is set and the thin pork strips are cooked through, extending as needed. Lift onto kitchen paper to drain and repeat with the remaining battered pork, bringing the oil back to temperature between batches.

   First fry per uncrowded batch; check pork doneness · 2 minUses Rested battered pork · Deep-frying oil at 175°C /350°F

8. 8

   Step 8: Pour the prepared sweet-and-sour sauce mixture into a separate pan and heat over medium-high heat until it bubbles. Add the prepared thinly sliced carrot and boil for 1 minute; start the timer after the carrot goes into the bubbling sauce.

   Boil carrot in the bubbling sauce · 1 minUses Mixed sweet-and-sour sauce base · Prepared sliced carrot

9. 9

   Step 9: Add the remaining prepared pineapple, onion, yellow and red bell peppers and cucumber to the carrot sauce. Boil for a further 2 minutes.

   Boil the remaining fruit and vegetables · 2 minUses Bubbling sweet-and-sour sauce with carrot · Prepared pineapple, onion, peppers and cucumber

10. 10

    Step 10: Stir the separate prepared starch-and-water slurry again, then add it to the hot fruit-and-vegetable sauce. Stir constantly until the sauce thickens evenly, then remove from the heat.

    Uses Hot sweet-and-sour fruit-and-vegetable sauce · Separate prepared sauce-thickening slurry

11. 11

    Step 11: Reheat the same frying oil to 175°C / 350°F. Return the drained, once-fried pork for a brief second fry until the coating is crisp, keeping the oil hot and avoiding overflow. Lift onto fresh kitchen paper to drain; the pork should already have cooked through in its first fry.

    Uses The same deep-frying oil, reheated to 175°C /350°F · Drained once-fried cooked pork

12. 12

    Step 12: Serve the crisp twice-fried pork immediately in four portions. Pour the prepared thickened sweet-and-sour sauce over it, or serve the meat and sauce separately for dipping to keep the coating crisp longer. Refrigerate leftovers with the sauce separate from the meat; the author gives 3–4 days for refrigerated storage.

    Uses Drained twice-fried pork · Prepared thickened sweet-and-sour sauce