Vietnamese Pork Chops (Caramelized Lemongrass Pork)

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Ingredients:

  • 2 LB pork shoulder or loin or thin pork chops
  • 3 TBS oil

Pork Marinade:

  • 1 stalk fresh lemongrass (finely chopped)
  • ¼ onion or 2 shallots (finely chopped)
  • 2 green onions (finely chopped)
  • 3 cloves garlic (minced)
  • 2 TBS fish sauce
  • 1 TBS dark soy sauce
  • 2 TBS brown sugar or white/palm sugar
  • ¼ TSP sea salt
  • Black pepper
  • 1 TBS oil

To Serve:

  • Freshly cooked rice
  • Sliced cucumbers and tomatoes
  • Nuoc mam (Vietnamese Fish Sauce Dipping Sauce) or peanut sauce
  1. Wash and pat dry pork shoulder or loin with paper towels. With a sharp knife, trim off fat and cut into ½” thick slices*.
  2. Finely chop lemongrass, onions, spring onions and garlic. For best results, grind to a rough paste with a pestle and mortar. Or, roughly chop and blend in a small food processor**.
  3. In a large bowl or ziplock bag, combine all marinade ingredients and mix well. Add pork slices and coat well (if using a ziplock bag, seal then rub pork all over). Cover the bowl with cling wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour to marinate.
  4. When ready to cook, add 1 tablespoon of oil to a large non-stick pan or griddle pan on medium-high heat. Once the pan is hot, with a pair of tongs, place pork slices onto the pan and cook for about 2 minutes per side or until cooked through and pork is lightly charred on both sides. Do not overcrowd the pan. Make sure there is wiggle room in between each slice. You most likely will have to cook in 3 batches.
  5. Once the first batch is cooked, wipe clean the pan with a scrunched up paper towel using a pair of tongs. This will get rid of charred bits of aromatics from the first batch.
  6. Repeat for 2 more times or until all pork have been cooked.
  7. Serve with some rice, fresh tomato and cucumber slices and a side of nuoc mam or peanut sauce as a dipping sauce.

NOTES

  • * Cooking with thin pork chops or shoulder slices. This will speed up the marinating process (takes less time for pork to absorb the marinade) and is quicker to cook. Thin slices are much easier to eat with rice, rice noodles or vegetables.
  • ** Optional grind or blend the aromatics help release the flavours and make it easier for the pork to absorb during the marinating process. If you don’t have a pestle and mortar or a food processor, simply chop the lemongrass, onions and garlic to as fine as possible.
  • Wipe the pan or griddle pan clean with scrunched up paper towel after cooking each batch. Soy sauces burn easily when sizzled on high heat. So do sugar, garlic, onions and lemongrass. All of which are in the marinade. By wiping the pan clean is the trick to avoid burning.

Yields 6 servings.

Calories: 376kcal | Carbohydrates: 6.7g | Protein: 32.3g | Fat: 23.8g | Saturated Fat: 6.9g | Cholesterol: 113mg | Potassium: 521mg | Fiber: 0.3g | Sugar: 4.3g | Iron: 3mg

https://casuallypeckish.com/vietnamese-fish-sauce-dipping-sauce-nuoc-mam/