Grilled or Baked Pork Chops (Cơm Sườn Nướng)

A grilled or baked pork chop is a very popular dish in the Vietnamese cuisine-Cơm Sườn Nướng). There are many recipes to make this dish. I like to use Korean-style cut-pork chops  because it cuts in the slimmer texture and hence the meat can be quick pan-fried to save time and the cleanup is easier too. I will now introduce this pork chop recipe with some spices that are easy to find and most of them are available in many kitchens, but the results are great. 

Ingredients:

1 to 1 ½ lbs. pork chops

Marinade ingredients:

1 tbs soy sauce

1 tbs fish sauce

1 tbs sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

1/4 tsp cayenne

1 tbs peanut oil

1 tsp black strap molasses

1 tsp 5 spice

2 garlic cloves

1 shallot

2 green onions

3 tbs coconut milk or water

Serve with:

Hot cooked rice

Vietnamese dipping sauce

Lettuce, cucumbers, bean sprouts, pickled carrots, and daikon

Directions:

In a mini food processor, blend garlic, shallot, and green onions into a fine paste. Add the rest of the marinade ingredients and mix well. 

Place pork chop in a Ziploc and pour the marinade mixture to cover the pork chops. Seal the bag and refrigerate for a few hours or overnight.

Remove the pork chops and reserve the marinade.

Heat a little oil in a sauté pan. Lay the pork chops in single layer. Pan- fry the chops 3 to 4 minutes on each side. Brush with reserved marinade

Serve with items suggested above – your choice.

To make Vietnamese dipping sauce:

Equal parts water and fish sauce (1/4 cup)

1 tbs lemon juice and 1 tsp white vinegar

2 fresh hot chilies, sliced

2 garlic cloves minced

2 tbs sugar

Combine all of these ingredients and adjust the seasoning with more or less sugar to your liking.