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Vietnamese Pork Chops
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5 from 5 votes

Vietnamese Pork Chops

This recipe for Vietnamese Pork Chops has the signature umami depth of flavor you find on a Vietnamese restaurant’s pork chop plate.
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Vietnamese
Servings: 5
Calories: 753kcal
Author: Kaitlin

Ingredients

For the pork chop marinade:

  • 3 pounds bone-in pork loin end chops (about 5 pork chops - 1.4kg)
  • 3 tablespoons brown sugar
  • 2 tablespoons minced lemongrass (or 1 teaspoon lemongrass powder)
  • 2 tablespoons minced garlic (3 large cloves)
  • 1 tablespoon minced shallot
  • 2 tablespoons sweetened condensed milk (optional)
  • 3 tablespoons fish sauce
  • 2 tablespoons oyster sauce
  • 1 tablespoon soy sauce
  • 1 teaspoon onion powder
  • ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper

For the scallion oil (to spoon over the pork chops and flavor the rice):

  • ¼ cup neutral high smoke point oil
  • 4 scallions (finely chopped)
  • ¼ teaspoon salt

For the nuoc cham:

  • 1½ tablespoons palm sugar (or light brown sugar or granulated sugar)
  • 2 tablespoons hot water
  • 1 tablespoon fish sauce
  • 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lime juice
  • 1 clove minced garlic

For serving:

  • Sliced cucumbers
  • Sliced tomatoes
  • Steamed jasmine rice
US Customary - Metric

Instructions

  • First cut a series of ½-inch (1cm) incisions around the perimeter of your pork chops. This prevents them from curling while they cook. If your pork chops are thicker than about a half an inch, use a meat tenderizer or the back of your knife to pound them out to a ½-inch thickness.
  • Add the pork chops to a large bowl along with the brown sugar, lemongrass, garlic, shallot, sweetened condensed milk, fish sauce, oyster sauce, soy sauce, onion powder, and pepper. Mix with your hands until the marinade is well-mixed and the pork chops are well-coated. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours, or ideally overnight.
  • While the pork chops are marinating, make your scallion oil and nuoc cham. Both of these come together really quickly. Heat a saucepan over medium-high heat until a water droplet beads on the surface. Add your oil, followed by the scallions. They’ll immediately sizzle up, but they shouldn’t turn dark right away, or your heat is too high. Cook for 1 minute until the oil has permeated the scallions and they’re bright green. Remove from the heat and use a rubber spatula to transfer to a heat-proof bowl for serving. Stir in the salt.
  • To make the nuoc cham, dissolve the sugar in the hot water, and add the fish sauce, rice vinegar, lime juice, and garlic. Set aside.
  • Once you’re ready to cook the pork chops, prep your sliced cucumbers, tomatoes, and start your rice.
  • Add the pork chops to the air fryer two at a time and air fry at 380°F for 10-12 minutes. When the first batch of pork chops is done, keep them warm on a plate tented with foil while the next batch cooks. When all the pork chops are cooked, you can pile them into the air fryer basket and let them heat through at 380°F for 2 minutes so all the pork chops are hot when they hit the table.
  • If you want to cook the pork chops in a skillet, preheat a pan over medium-high heat, add 2 tablespoon of oil, and cook one chop at a time for 4-5 minutes on each side until brown and caramelized on both sides, reducing the heat as needed to avoid burning.
  • Serve the pork chops with the rice, cucumber, tomato, scallion oil, and nuoc cham. You can also cook up a fried egg if you like!

Notes

Nutrition information is for 1 whole pork chop, 1 cup steamed jasmine rice, and 1/5 of the scallion oil, the nuoc cham, and a large cucumber and large tomato. 

Nutrition

Calories: 753kcal | Carbohydrates: 66g | Protein: 68g | Fat: 22g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 12g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 182mg | Sodium: 1219mg | Potassium: 1416mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 16g | Vitamin A: 370IU | Vitamin C: 10mg | Calcium: 97mg | Iron: 3mg