So while I was in Chicago I pretended to be a resident of Chicago. I tried my hardest not to look lost, and I walked with a purpose. This was after I turned the wrong way out of the train and walked around in a huge circle before I found my bus stop - which was less than a block from the train. I'm not so great with directions, ok? That's what GPS is for. My GPS's name is Daniel.
Anyways, I walked up and down Michigan Ave. for about 3 hours. And I didn't buy anything. That's right. For those of you who know me, that's quite a feat (and you should be super proud of me!) I didn't buy anything because I am on a 30-day shopping ban. Yes, no shopping for 30 days. No clothes, shoes, or accessories for 30 days – I don’t think you guys would be very happy if I posted recipes for grilled shoes or flambéed scarves, right?
Now on the the recipe! I've been on a real Vietnamese food kick lately. This is super easy to make. It only takes minutes to make the marinade and 10 minutes to grill it. Most of the time is spent marinating. You can eat this with rice alone, or as I like it, with picked vegetables and scallion oil. I hope you enjoy!
Ingredients
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
¼ cup honey
¼ cup nuoc mam (Vietnamese fish sauce)
¼ cup water
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 medium shallots, minced
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
4 pork chops (4-6 ounces each, about ½ - ¾ inch thick)
To serve:
Jasmine rice
Pickled carrots and radish
Scallion oil
Nuoc cham
Nuoc cham
Directions
1. Combine all ingredients except pork chops in a shallow
pan (I used a glass pyrex with a lid).
Mix well to dissolve honey.
Place pork chops in marinade and cover. Marinate 2 – 8 hours.
If pork chops are not completely covered by the marinade, flip them
once halfway through marinating.
2. Preheat and oil grill pan (don't use olive oil, you'll smoke up your entire place - spoken from experience, guys). Grill each pork chop for about 5 minutes per side.
3. Cover with aluminum foil and let rest for 10 minutes.
4. To serve: There are a few ways to have this. The simple way is just to serve it with rice. Or if you want to be fancy, you can serve as part of com tam. You remember what com tam is, right? Here's a quicky wiki here. Or, you could omit the steamed egg and just serve it with rice, picked veggies and scallion oil (cook for a few minutes less to keep the scallions green), and nuoc cham.
P.S. Traditionally, the pork chops are pounded thin so they take more of the marinade and so they are a little more tender, but I didn't feel like getting the meat mallet out. But if you're feeling particularly stressed, feel free to take it out on the pork!
P.P.S. Also, the pork is typically fried, but I preferred the healthier cooking method of grilling. If you would like to fry it, heat 2-3 tablespoons of canola oil over medium-high heat. Then cook the pork chops for 4-5 minutes per side (less if you pound it thin).
P.P.P.S. The traditional Vietnamese recipe tends to use a fattier cut of pork (Vietnamese people definitely believe in the saying "mo' fat, mo' flavor"), but I think that a lean pork chop tastes just fine.
xoxo <3
Nhu-Y
3. Cover with aluminum foil and let rest for 10 minutes.
4. To serve: There are a few ways to have this. The simple way is just to serve it with rice. Or if you want to be fancy, you can serve as part of com tam. You remember what com tam is, right? Here's a quicky wiki here. Or, you could omit the steamed egg and just serve it with rice, picked veggies and scallion oil (cook for a few minutes less to keep the scallions green), and nuoc cham.
P.S. Traditionally, the pork chops are pounded thin so they take more of the marinade and so they are a little more tender, but I didn't feel like getting the meat mallet out. But if you're feeling particularly stressed, feel free to take it out on the pork!
P.P.S. Also, the pork is typically fried, but I preferred the healthier cooking method of grilling. If you would like to fry it, heat 2-3 tablespoons of canola oil over medium-high heat. Then cook the pork chops for 4-5 minutes per side (less if you pound it thin).
P.P.P.S. The traditional Vietnamese recipe tends to use a fattier cut of pork (Vietnamese people definitely believe in the saying "mo' fat, mo' flavor"), but I think that a lean pork chop tastes just fine.
xoxo <3
Nhu-Y
