Vietnamese Pork Chops

There's a broken rice specialty restaurant in Houston that we go to almost every time I'm home.  Thuan Kieu Giang Com Tam has delicious broken rice and meat (or tofu, or egg rolls, or fried egg, or Vietnamese pork roll/cha lua...) dishes.  It inspired me to try a Vietnamese-style pork chop.

Most com tam dishes are served with lettuce, pickled shredded carrots, and tomatoes.  I did not have any com tam, or broken rice bits, so I just used Jasmine rice.  I bought some beautiful 1" pork chops from the SFC Triangle Farmer's Market to grill.  Marinating the pork chop in a fish sauce marinade really imparts a Vietnamese flavor and caramelizes the pork chop once it hits the grill.  Veterinary school has perpetually freaked me out about under cooked pork (no tritrich for me!), so I like to finish the chops in the oven until an instant read thermometer hits 145*F.

Recipe adapted from Epicurious

Vietnamese Pork Chops
Ingredients
  • 1/3 c. brown sugar
  • 1/4 c. fish sauce
  • 2 tbs rice vinegar
  • 1 tbs. vegetable oil
  • shallot, thinly sliced
  • salt and fresh ground pepper
  • 2 1" thick pork chops
Directions
  1. Combine all ingredients (except pork chops) in a shallow casserole dish.  Make sure the sugar has dissolved.
  2. Marinate the pork chops in sauce in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour.  Take out and allow to come to room temp and turn the pork chops in marinade.  Shake off excess marinade form chops.
  3. Grill 4 minutes per side over medium-high heat.
  4. Allow to finish cooking in 375*F oven until cooked through in center.
  5. Rest for 5 minutes before serving.



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