One of my family’s favorite dishes is based on a recipe my hubby found in a Vietnamese cookbook we picked up at Costco many years ago. You know it’s an authentic cookbook when it’s been translated to English after the initial publication. I’ve adapted the recipe slightly and prepare it regularly, and, although I’ve never tried it, every one of my boys and my husband LOVE it! Even my oldest son who doesn’t like at least half of my cooking. (He hates Indian which is one of my favs!)
Why don’t I eat it? I have some funny rules about food. If something doesn’t appeal to me, and it’s not particularly healthy, I choose not to try it, because then there will be another food I want that I shouldn’t have. Strange. I know. But we all have our little quirks, don’t we?
Okay, back to the pork chops. I love these because we get several meals out of them: dinner for the family, lunch for my hubby, leftovers re-made for dinner, and leftover lunch for my hubby. It saves us a ton of money, but it doesn’t feel like saving, because everyone loves it so much.
Without further ado, here’s the recipe.
Pan-Fried Pork Chops
Adapted from a recipe in Vietnamese Cuisine by Muoi Thai Loangkote
4 pork chops (1 pound)
2 tablespoons soy sauce (I prefer La Choy)
1 tablespoon fish sauce (similar to soy sauce, but not interchangeable)
2 teaspoons sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
3 garlic cloves, mashed or put through garlic press
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander (can substitute 1 tablespoon fresh coriander stem pieces)
Tenderize pork chops (or at 1/8 teaspoon baking soda to marinade). Mix together all other ingredients. Coat pork chops in marinade. Let marinade for at least 1 hour if you have tenderized the chops. If you have not tenderized the chops, let them marinade overnight.
Heat 3 tablespoons of oil in a frying pan on high heat. Cook pork chops until meat is cooked and golden brown (about 5-8 minutes, depending on thickness of chops). Serve with rice.
As always, here’s my step-by-step picture tutorial. (Keep in mind that I doubled the recipe.)
And that’s it! The most difficult part of this is tenderizing the pork chops. The total prep time is maybe 10 minutes. The cook time is less than 10 minutes for four chops. I doubled the recipe, and they were done in less than 15 minutes.
Tomorrow, I will show you how I “re-made” these into a lovely dinner my children actually want to eat, despite the fact that they are leftovers.
What’s your favorite quick and hearty dish? Can you “re-make” it so it doesn’t feel like you’re eating leftovers?
March 24, 2014 at 8:54 pm
Reblogged this on SherayxWeblog.
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March 24, 2014 at 11:22 pm
Yum yum!
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March 25, 2014 at 12:39 am
Looks great. I’m sure it’d also work well with chicken if you are not a fan of pork. This marinade works well when marinading meat for barbeques too! Thanks for sharing 🙂
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March 25, 2014 at 9:33 am
You can definitely use chicken instead of pork. 🙂
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March 25, 2014 at 2:04 am
Hungry just looking at those – yum!!!
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March 25, 2014 at 5:39 am
I’m gonna have to try this. Growing up on Guam the marinade sounds similar, although I don’t think we used fish sauce much, or coriander. Funny how you don’t eat what you make, but it kind of makes sense, if you think it’s unhealthy. But then, what do you eat? Are you vegetarian? Just wondering. I do eat what I make, but trying to give it away so as not to eat more than I need. Just a taste. Seems to work as I can usually find someone to take it away from me. If I can’t, I freeze it. I’m still trying to figure out how to use frozen cake besides rum balls. Thanks for posting!
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March 25, 2014 at 9:32 am
Thanks for stopping by my blog.
No, I’m not a vegetarian, but I do enjoy many vegetarian dishes. I usually eat what I make for my family, last night, I ate a salad with some home canned pinto beans and home canned chicken. 🙂
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March 25, 2014 at 9:31 am
Sounds scrumtious. 😀
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March 25, 2014 at 9:35 am
Looks really good, I might try this one of these days.
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Pingback: Vietnamese Pan Fried Pork Chops – Part One | My Foray Into Food Storage | Moments of Awareness
Pingback: Pork Chops Reborn or Vietnamese Pan Fried Pork Chops, Part Two | My Foray Into Food Storage
March 26, 2014 at 7:02 pm
I looove Vietnamese pork chops, Laurie! YUMMM!
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