These fragrant lemongrass pork chops are succulent, sweet and the essence of Vietnamese cuisine. Grilling gives an authentic pop of char to these unique South East Asian delights.
Combine all the marinade ingredients with the pork and leave covered or in a plastic bag in the fridge for as long as you can! 24 hours is great, 4 hours minimum.
Once marinated, heat a BBQ grill or a skillet pan. Cook the pork chops for about 4-5 minutes per side (depending how thick your chops are) a thicker chop may take 5-7 per side. My chops were about 1-inch (2.5cm) thick.
Leave the chops to rest for 2 minutes before serving.
For the Nước chấm dipping sauce
Boil the water and when hot, pour over the sugar. Add the fish sauce and vinegar and whisk until the sugar is dissolved. Add the garlic and chilli and stir. Leave to cool to room temperature. You can store in a jar in the fridge for up to 2 months.
For the accompaniments
Make a simple salad with cucumber, tomato, cilantro and mint. Serve a little cooked broken rice (or Jasmine rice) alongside the salad and the little Nước chấm dipping sauce on the side in individual bowls per person.
Notes
Pro Tips:
Marinate in a plastic bag. To save mess and fuss.
Pre-make your dipping sauce, it'll stay fresh for a week or so in the fridge.
Instead of a BBQ grill, use a hot broiler/oven grill or a skillet/frying pan.
Serving & Storage:
Freezing marinated chops: Freeze the pork in the marinade before cooking for up to 2 months. Make sure the meat is full defrosted before cooking as normal.
Leftover chops will refrigerate for 2-3 days. In my opinion, freezing the cooked chops is not recommended.
Leftover dipping sauce: The Nuoc Cham wis good in the fridge for 1-2 weeks. Reuse as an Asian salad dressing or a light pickle for an alternative to salad for this dish. Simply soak thin batons or slices of raw carrot and radish for 20 minutes in 1/2 cup of the dipping sauce. Drain and serve.
Crispy fried egg - This is a common addition and perfect! Fry an egg on one side only until the edges are browned and crispy, while the yolk still runny.