Just a 10-minute marinade turns these boneless pork chops into a juicy, tender midweek meal. Grill on the barbecue or in a chargrill pan and add cucumber, tomato and a fried egg dressed with nuoc cham. Serve with rice.
Vietnamese Grilled Pork Chops
4 x 150g (5 oz) boneless pork loin chops
3 tbsp fish sauce
2 garlic cloves, finely grated
1 tsp sugar
¼ tsp turmeric
¼ tsp ground black pepper
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 Lebanese cucumber, sliced
2 tomatoes, sliced
4 fried eggs
steamed rice to serve
Nuoc Cham dressing:
¼ cup white sugar
¼ cup fish sauce
¼ cup white vinegar
1 tbsp lime juice
1 tbsp finely chopped red chilli
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
- Cover pork chops with baking paper or cling film and use a rolling pin or saucepan to pound to an even 1.5cm thickness.
- For the pork marinade, whisk together the fish sauce, garlic, sugar, turmeric and pepper. Pour mixture over the pork and marinate for 10 minutes.
- Meanwhile, to make the nuoc cham dressing, combine the fish sauce, sugar, vinegar, lime juice and 1/4 cup of water in a jar and shake until the sugar dissolves. This can be stored in the fridge to use for up to 2 weeks. When ready to serve, pour out a small bowlful of the dressing and add the chilli and garlic.
- Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large non-stick frying pan over high heat and cook pork for 3-4 minutes each side until just cooked through. Remove from heat to rest for 2 minutes.
- Serve pork with rice, egg, tomatoes and cucumber. Top the whole lot with generous spoonfuls of dressing.
- Notes: – You can store your nuoc cham dressing in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.
