It used to be that pork chop night meant dried out meat that could only regain some moisture from a clever sauce. And tenderness? Forget it! But today's pork can be cooked more gently and a combination of a quick stovetop sear with an oven finish means a tasty crust with tender meat at the table. And that clever sauce? It's still clever, but doesn't need to do so much heavy lifting!
The simple sauce is really just a souped up hoisin sauce and, if you aren't looking to doll it up at all, feel free to just use hoisin sauce on its own. We're really looking for a fun way to bring more flavor to the table and since thick cut pork chops have a lot of heft, a sauce with a lot of flavor is a great addition. You can also opt to tweak the amount of garlic, ginger, and pepper to suit your tastes. What you have here caters to mine.
Finally, you can use other veggies, but I like broccoli and cauliflower because they roast quickly and beautifully and because they are both vegetables that are on home in an Asian dish. The seasoning from the seared pork tends to flavor them just enough and then the spicy sauce carries it all the rest of the way. All of this in about a half hour. Cheers!
Asian Ginger Pork Chops with Broccoli & Cauliflower
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 tsp. ginger paste
- ½ tsp. crushed red pepper
- ½ c. hoisin sauce
- 2 T. ketchup
- 2 T. cooking fat - I used peanut oil
- 2 tsp. Szechuan Pepper Salt
- 3 thick cut boneless pork chops
- 1 c. fresh broccoli pieces
- 1 c. fresh cauliflower pieces
Preheat the oven to 400° F. Combine the garlic, ginger, crushed red pepper, hoisin sauce, and ketchup in a small dish to make a sauce. Set aside.
Heat the cooking fat in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Season the pork chops well with the Szechuan Pepper Salt. When the skillet is hot, add the pork chops and sear for 5 minutes per side. When the 10 minutes of cooking time has elapsed, add the broccoli and cauliflower to the pan and, using a brush, liberally spread the sauce over each of the pork chops.
Place the skillet in the preheated oven and roast for an additional 10 minutes. Serve with hot cooked rice.
- Yields: 3 servings
- Preparation Time: 30 minutes