Crispy Mushroom Tangsu (Sweet & Sour)
Quick answer
Double-fried oyster mushrooms with the same two-stage frying technique used for Korean tangsu pork.
What makes this special
- Double-fried oyster mushrooms create a shattering crisp shell over a chewy interior.
- Double-fried at 170°C then 180°C for a crisp shell over a chewy interior
- Potato starch and flour batter locks in oyster mushroom's springy texture
Key ingredients
Core cooking flow
- 1 Tear 300 g oyster mushrooms by hand into 4-5 cm strips following the grain...
- 2 Whisk 80 g potato starch, 40 g flour, and 90 ml water in a bowl until smooth...
- 3 Heat oil to 170 C and confirm with a thermometer, add battered mushrooms in...
Double-fried oyster mushrooms with the same two-stage frying technique used for Korean tangsu pork. Oyster mushrooms fully dried of moisture are coated in a potato starch and flour batter, fried at 170°C, rested to release steam, then returned to 180°C for a second fry that locks in a crisp exterior while keeping the interior chewy. A sweet-sour sauce of soy sauce, vinegar, and sugar is simmered with onion, bell pepper, and carrot, then thickened with a starch slurry. Pouring the sauce over the mushrooms in advance softens the crust quickly, so serving the sauce separately and ladling it on at the table preserves the crunch. The technique produces a texture comparable to the pork version without any meat.
Instructions
Read the steps as a cooking flow: prep, heat, seasoning, doneness control, and finish.
- 1Step
Tear 300 g oyster mushrooms by hand into 4-5 cm strips following the grain, then press firmly between two sheets of paper towel to draw out surface and interior moisture completely.
- 2Step
Whisk 80 g potato starch, 40 g flour, and 90 ml water in a bowl until smooth and lump-free, then rest for 5 minutes so the starch hydrates and the batter bonds tightly to the mushroom.
- 3Heat
Heat oil to 170 C and confirm with a thermometer, add battered mushrooms in a single layer without crowding, fry for 3 to 4 minutes until pale golden, then remove from the oil.
- 4Heat
Rest the fried mushrooms on a rack for 2 minutes to release steam, raise the oil to 180 C, then return them and fry for 1 minute until the crust deepens to a rich golden brown and turns audibly crisp.
- 5Control
Film a pan with oil over medium heat, stir-fry the onion, bell pepper, and carrot for 1 to 2 minutes until the edges turn translucent, then pour in 130 ml water and bring to a boil on high heat.
- 6Season
Add 20 ml soy sauce, 35 ml vinegar, and 25 g sugar and boil for 1 minute, then stir in the remaining 40 g starch dissolved in cold water until the sauce turns translucent and coats a spoon.
- 7Finish
To keep the crust crisp, serve the sauce in a small bowl on the side and ladle it over the fried mushrooms just before eating so the texture stays crunchy from the first bite.
After the steps
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