Tangsuyuk
{{Short description|Korean Chinese sweet and sour meat dish}}
{{Infobox food
| name = Tangsuyuk
| image = Tangsuyuk (Korean Chinese sweet and sour pork).jpg
| caption =
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| country = China
| region = Incheon Chinatown
| national_cuisine = Korean Chinese cuisine
| creator = Chinese immigrants in Korea
| year =
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| served = Warm
| main_ingredient = Pork or beef loin, sweet and sour sauce
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| serving_size = 100 g
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| calories_ref = {{Cite web|url=http://www.hansik.org/kr/board.do?cmd=view&bbs_id=021&menu=PKR2020100&lang=kr&art_id=2006|title=bulgogi|website=Korean Food Foundation|language=ko|script-title=ko:불고기|access-date=8 April 2017|archive-date=24 August 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170824185727/http://www.hansik.org/kr/board.do?cmd=view&bbs_id=021&menu=pkr2020100&art_id=2006&lang=kr|url-status=dead}}
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}}{{Italic title}}{{Infobox Korean name
| title = Korean name
| hangul = 탕수육
| hanja = 湯水肉
| rr = tangsuyuk
| mr = t'angsuyuk
| koreanipa = {{IPA|ko|tʰaŋ.su.juk̚|}}
}}
Tangsuyuk ({{Korean|hangul=탕수육}}) is a Korean Chinese meat dish with sweet and sour sauce. It can be made with either pork or beef.{{Cite web|url=http://stdweb2.korean.go.kr/search/View.jsp?idx=496832|title=tangsuyuk|website=Standard Korean Language Dictionary|publisher=National Institute of Korean Language|language=ko|script-title=ko:탕수육|access-date=21 April 2017|archive-date=22 April 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170422033242/http://stdweb2.korean.go.kr/search/View.jsp?idx=496832|url-status=dead}}{{cite web |last1=L |first1=Sue |title=Tangsuyuk (Sweet and Sour Beef or Pork) |url=https://www.koreanbapsang.com/tangsuyuk-sweet-and-sour-beef-or-pork/ |website=Korean Bapsang |access-date=4 April 2022 |date=4 November 2018 |quote=Tangsuyuk (also spelled tangsooyuk) is another beloved Korean-Chinese dish along with the two noodle dishes – jajangmyeon and jjamppong.}}{{cite web |last1=S |first1=Hyosun |title=Tangsuyuk |url=https://mykoreankitchen.com/tangsuyuk-korean-sweet-sour-pork/ |website=My Korean Kitchen |access-date=4 April 2022 |date=11 March 2017 |quote=Tansuyuk / Tang soo yook / Tang su yuk (탕수육, 糖醋肉) is a very popular Korean Chinese dish known as Korean sweet and sour pork.}}
History and etymology
Tangsuyuk is a dish that was first made by Chinese merchants in the port city of Incheon, where the majority of the ethnic Chinese population in contemporary South Korea live. It is derived from the Shandong-style sweet and sour pork, as Chinese immigrants in Korea, including those that had first migrated to Northeastern China (which is known for Guōbāoròu, a similar sweet and sour pork dish), mostly had Shandong ancestry.{{Cite news|url=http://www.seoul.co.kr/news/newsView.php?id=20160227016003|title=짜장면과 탕수육|last=김|first=경운|date=26 February 2016|work=Seoul Shinmun|access-date=21 April 2017|language=ko}}
Although the Chinese characters meaning "sugar" ({{lang|ko|糖}}), "vinegar" ({{lang|ko|醋}}), and "meat" ({{lang|ko|肉}}) in the original Chinese name "{{lang|zh|糖醋肉}} (pronounced tángcù ròu in Chinese)" are pronounced dang, cho, and yuk in Korean, the dish is called tangsuyuk, not dangchoyuk, because the word tangsu derived from the transliteration of Chinese pronunciation tángcù {{IPA|cmn|tʰǎŋ.tsʰû|}}, with the affricate c {{IPA|cmn|tsʰ|}} in the second syllable weakened into fricative s {{IPA|ko|s|}}.{{Cite news|url=http://www.pressian.com/news/article.html?no=137644|title=탕수육은 왜 탕수육일까?|last=임|first=대근|date=10 June 2016|work=Pressian |access-date=21 April 2017|language=ko}} Transliterated loanwords like tangsu do not comprise Sino-Korean vocabulary and do not carry hanja.
The third syllable ròu ({{lang|zh|肉}}) was not transliterated, as Sino-Korean word yuk ({{Korean|hangul=육|hanja=肉|labels=no}}) meaning "meat" was also commonly used in Korean dish names.
As the word tangsuyuk is the combination of transliterated loanword tangsu and Sino-Korean yuk, it was not a Sino-Korean vocabulary that could be written in hanja. However, Koreans back-formed the second syllable with hanja su ({{Korean|hangul=수|hanja=水|labels=no}}), meaning "water", perhaps because the sauce was considered soupy.
Preparation
Bite-size pieces of pork or beef loin are coated with batter, usually made by soaking a mixture of potato or sweet potato starch and corn starch in water for several hours and draining the excess water. Glutinous rice flour may also be used. Egg white or cooking oil is added to the batter to change its consistency. Similarly to other Korean deep fried dishes, battered tangsuyuk meat is double-fried.{{Cite news |url=http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20140328001324|title=Tangsuyuk (sweet and sour pork)|last=Ro |first=Hyo-sun |date=28 March 2014|work=The Korea Herald|access-date=21 April 2017}}{{cite book | last=Joo | first=J. | title=Korean Food Made Simple | publisher=Houghton Mifflin Harcourt | year=2016 | isbn=978-0-544-66308-4 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-AYbDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA183 | accessdate=April 25, 2017 | page=183}}
Tangsuyuk is served with sweet and sour sauce, which is typically made by boiling vinegar, sugar and water, with variety of fruits and vegetables like carrot, cucumber, onion, water chestnut, wood ear mushroom and pineapple. Starch slurry is used to thicken the sauce.
= Pouring versus dipping =
There is debate on whether one should pour the sauce directly onto tangsuyuk or individually dip each piece. The dippers (찍먹파), such as Anh Sung-jae, argue such practice preserves the crunchy texture,{{Cite web |last=함 |first=철민 |date=2024-10-22 |title=영원한 난제 ‘탕수육 부먹·찍먹’ 논란에 미슐랭 3스타인 ‘흑백요리사’ 안성재가 밝힌 소신 |url=https://www.insight.co.kr/news/481969 |access-date=2025-02-14 |website=인사이트 |language=ko}} while the pourers (부먹파) argue it enhances flavor.{{Cite web |last=김 |first=성윤 |date=2021-07-14 |title=부먹이냐 찍먹이냐… 탕수육 소스 논쟁의 시작은? |url=https://www.chosun.com/opinion/essay/2021/07/15/4U42T7SR6BEW3KAEHWY462XAPI/ |access-date=2025-02-14 |website=Chosun Ilbo |language=ko}} Tangsuyuk was originally served with the sauce poured. However, the advent of food delivery services necessitated the sauce to be packaged separately to prevent the tangsuyuk from becoming soggy, which had the additional benefit of accommodating both preferences.{{Cite web |title=보뤄구라오러우 (菠萝咕咾肉, 파라고로육) |url=https://terms.naver.com/entry.naver?docId=6623528&cid=48164&categoryId=48206 |access-date=2025-02-14 |website=Naver Encyclopedia |language=ko}}
Gallery
Beoseot-tangsuyuk.jpg|Beoseot-tangsuyuk, a vegan/vegetarian tangsuyuk dish using shiitake mushroom as a meat substitute