Pork Chops with Crispy Garlic and Lemongrass
(Serves 4, or 2 very hungry people)
Published and copyrighted by shesimmers.com
4 bone-in, not so lean, pork chops (no thicker than 3/4 inch)
3 tablespoon fish sauce
2 tablespoon honey
1 teaspoon ground white pepper
2 teaspoons baking soda (I've found that this helps tenderize the pork chops and keeps the loin parts from being dry and tough)
2 stalks lemongrass, sliced crosswise very thinly (use only 5 inches from the base and keep the rest to infuse Tom Kha Gai or Tom Yam with)
5-6 large cloves of garlic, peeled and sliced crosswise as thinly as you can
About 1/3 cup vegetable oil
Marinate the pork chops with fish sauce, honey, ground pepper, and baking soda. Cover and refrigerate for about an hour, up to 4-5 hours.
Meanwhile, put the sliced garlic and lemongrass into a small (8-inch) frying pan along with the vegetable oil. Heat up the oil, the garlic, and the lemongrass together over medium heat until the mixture starts to sizzle. Monitor the heat closely and stir things around almost constantly (the mixture tends to brown more quickly around the edges). You want the garlic and lemongrass to turn golden slowly until they become very crispy. Too high temperature will burn them before they get to that point.
Once the garlic and lemongrass are crispy, transfer them to a paper towel-lined plate and set aside.
Preheat the oven to 375°F.
In another pan, preferably nonstick, sear the outsides of the pork chops just until you get a good color on both sides of them. There's no need to cook them all the way through.
Finish off your seared pork chops in the oven, being careful not to overcook them.
Sprinkle the prepared crispy garlic and lemongrass over the pork chops and serve them immediately with steamed rice.
(Serves 4, or 2 very hungry people)
Printable Version
4 bone-in, not so lean, pork chops (no thicker than 3/4 inch)
3 tablespoon fish sauce
2 tablespoon honey
1 teaspoon ground white pepper
2 teaspoons baking soda (I've found that this helps tenderize the pork chops and keeps the loin parts from being dry and tough)
2 stalks lemongrass, sliced crosswise very thinly (use only 5 inches from the base and keep the rest to infuse Tom Kha Gai or Tom Yam with)
5-6 large cloves of garlic, peeled and sliced crosswise as thinly as you can
About 1/3 cup vegetable oil
Marinate the pork chops with fish sauce, honey, ground pepper, and baking soda. Cover and refrigerate for about an hour, up to 4-5 hours.
Meanwhile, put the sliced garlic and lemongrass into a small (8-inch) frying pan along with the vegetable oil. Heat up the oil, the garlic, and the lemongrass together over medium heat until the mixture starts to sizzle. Monitor the heat closely and stir things around almost constantly (the mixture tends to brown more quickly around the edges). You want the garlic and lemongrass to turn golden slowly until they become very crispy. Too high temperature will burn them before they get to that point.
Once the garlic and lemongrass are crispy, transfer them to a paper towel-lined plate and set aside.
Preheat the oven to 375°F.
In another pan, preferably nonstick, sear the outsides of the pork chops just until you get a good color on both sides of them. There's no need to cook them all the way through.
Finish off your seared pork chops in the oven, being careful not to overcook them.
Sprinkle the prepared crispy garlic and lemongrass over the pork chops and serve them immediately with steamed rice.