Of all the dishes I cook, crispy fried pork chops are Kevin’s absolute favorite. Whenever I mention cooking crispy pork chops for lunch or dinner, I can see Kevin’s face light up with the widest grin. Growing up, my mom made pork chops all the time as a quick dinner. Her version of pork chops is made with a combination of a few simple Asian sauces. The entire dish is cooked and served in under 30 minutes with a side of jasmine rice. My brothers and I would always request my mom’s pork chops when we were hungry, and we didn’t know what we wanted to eat. I would take a bite of the pork chop and eat a spoonful of rice and continue this process until I finished the entire pork chop. When I moved away from home, I still occasionally crave pork chops when I don’t know what to make for dinner. Over the years, I’ve been making variations of pork chops. This version expands upon my mom’s pork chops and includes a few additional sauce ingredients. I also fried the pork chops because Kevin loves anything fried. When I made these pork chops for lunch on Sunday and served it to Kevin, he ate it up right away.
Crispy Pork Chops:
For the marinade:
· ½ teaspoon sesame oil
· ½ tablespoon Shaoxing wine
· ½ tablespoon sugar
· ½ tablespoon hoisin sauce
· ½ tablespoon oyster sauce
· ½ tablespoon light soy sauce
· ½ tablespoon dark soy sauce
· 6 pork chops, room temperature
For the frying batter:
· 1 cup of vegetable oil
· 1 cup all-purpose flour
· ½ teaspoon kosher salt
· ¼ teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
· 2 large eggs, lightly whisked
· ½ cup panko bread crumbs
· ¼ cup all-purpose flour
· ½ teaspoon kosher salt
· ¼ teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
· ¼ teaspoon white pepper
Directions:
1) In a large bowl, whisk together the sesame oil, wine, sugar, hoisin sauce, oyster sauce, light soy sauce, and dark soy sauce. Add the pork chops and make sure all the pork chops are coated in the marinade. Set aside. Let the pork chops sit in the marinade for at least an hour before frying.
2) Heat a Dutch oven pot on medium heat. Add the vegetable oil. Let the vegetable oil heat up before frying the pork chops. The oil is ready when you see waves form in the oil.
3) Prepare the frying batter by setting up three shallow bowls. In the first bowl, add the flour, salt, and pepper. In the second bowl, add the lightly whisked eggs. In the third bowl, add the panko crumbs, flour, salt, black pepper, and white pepper.
4) Use tongs (or chopsticks) to pick up one piece of pork chop. Dip the pork chop in the first bowl and coat with the flour mixture. Dip the pork chop in the second bowl and coat with the whisked eggs. Dip the pork chop in the third bowl and coat with the panko mixture. Continue this process with the rest of the pork chops.
5) Fry the pork chops in the Dutch oven pot one at a time for about 2-3 minutes per side until the pork chops are golden brown. Rest each piece of pork chop after frying over a cooling rack to prevent the pork chop from becoming soggy at the bottom.
I served the pork chops with a side of garlic baby bok choy. To make the bok choy, heat a skillet on medium heat. Fill the skillet with about an inch deep of water. Once the water is hot, add the quartered bok choy standing up in the skillet. Let cook for 2 minutes until the bottom parts of the bok choy are tender. Remove bok choy to a plate. Pour out the water. Return the skillet back to the stove on medium heat. Add a tablespoon of vegetable oil. Add some thinly sliced garlic. Let the garlic cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the bok choy back in the skillet and cook for 2-3 minutes. Serve with the pork chops.
Takeaways: These pork chops were marinated for about two hours before frying. You can also marinade the pork chops the night before. I like to use panko bread crumbs because it creates a nice crispy texture once the pork chops are fried. The texture of these pork chops is a cross between fried chicken and the tempura coating on vegetables at sushi restaurants.