Korean Street-Style Gochu Twigim: 10 Pork-Stuffed Pepper Fritters (4 Servings)

Rinse and completely dry the peppers. Slit one side lengthwise without cutting through, then carefully scrape out seeds. Choose large mild peppers.

Finely mince carrot and green onion. Mix with 280 g ground pork, garlic, cornstarch, salt, pepper, sugar, and sesame oil. Wash hands and utensils after raw pork contact, and refrigerate the filling until needed.

From the 200 g frying mix, dust about 30 g lightly inside the peppers; shake off extra. Divide the filling evenly among 10 peppers, pressing it in without overfilling.

Lightly mix the remaining roughly 170 g frying mix with 180 mL cold water; add at most 20 mL more if too thick. In a deep pot, use about 3 cm of oil, never exceeding one-third of the vessel's height, and heat to 170–175°C.

Coat the stuffed peppers in batter and lower them into oil away from your body. Fry only 2–3 at a time, turning, about 5–7 minutes until golden. Probe the thickest pork filling with a food thermometer: it must reach at least 71°C / 160°F. If not, fry longer and check again; color or time alone is not enough.

Drain the fritters on a rack. Stir together 1 Tbsp soy sauce and 1 Tbsp vinegar for the dip. Never add water to hot oil; switch off the heat and let the oil cool safely.

Serve warm with the soy-vinegar dip only after verifying the pork is cooked. Refrigerate leftovers in shallow containers within 2 hours at 4°C / 40°F or below; reheat to 74°C / 165°F throughout.