Restaurant quality, juicy grilled Vietnamese pork chops any day of the week.
I first fell in love with Vietnamese cuisine by trying Pho. I love how aromatic and hearty Vietnamese food is- fish sauce, Thai basil, lime, cinnamon and star anise (to name a few) all come together for the perfect bowl of Pho.
As I continued to explore Vietnamese cuisine at my local restaurant, I tried spring rolls, bún bò Huế, bánh xèo, bánh mì and rice plates.
Over the years, I experimented and made these dishes at home. I'm looking forward to sharing more Vietnamese dishes but wanted to start off with a classic rice plate with grilled lemongrass pork chops!
I don't live close to an Asian grocery store so I used lemongrass paste from Gourmet Garden which can be found in major grocery stores.
I highly recommend using fresh lemongrass if you can. Asian grocery stores also sell frozen chopped lemongrass so you can always have some on hand.
I broke out our charcoal grill in 30 degree weather for this recipe and it was so worth it! Nothing compares to the grill marks and bits of char on the pork.
You can definitely make this on a skillet and save the grill for the summer! Don't be crazy like me...
I recommend using thin pork chops with marbling so the pork can cook quickly, soak up all the marinade and stay juicy.
This is a delicious recipe with minimal prep work- most of the time is spent in the fridge for the pork to marinate.
Vietnamese Grilled Lemongrass Pork Chops
Ingredients
- 2-3 lb thin blade end pork chops generous marbling
Marinade
- 1/4 cup fish sauce
- 6 garlic cloves
- 2 tsp sugar
- 1/2 cup red onion or shallot
- 2 tsp rice wine vinegar
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1/2 cup lemongrass chopped
Vietnamese Nuoc Cham Dipping Sauce
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 1/2 tsp Thai bird's eye chilies
- 4 tsp sugar
- 1 tbsp lime juice
- 2 tbsp fish sauce
- 1/2 cup water
To Serve
- rice
- fried eggs
- cilantro
- scallion oil
- cucumbers
- tomatoes
Instructions
- Add all marinade ingredients in a blender and blend until combined. Transfer the marinade to a bowl or large zip lock back, add pork chops and turn to coat evenly. Marinate for 3 hours or overnight. Turn the pork once in the middle of marinating to ensure all the pork is coated.
- Preheat the grill on medium heat and cook 3-5 minutes on each side depending on thickness. Pork is fully cooked at 145 degrees F.
- Serve with Nuoc Cham dipping sauce, rice, fried egg, cilantro, scallions, cucumber and tomatoes. Happy nomming!
Notes
- Use lemongrass paste if you can't find fresh lemongrass
- Skillet Method: On medium high heat, add 1 tb oil and cook pork 3-5 minutes on each side.
- Scallion Oil: Thinly slice 3 scallions and place in a bowl, heat 2 tb oil until smoking and add to the scallions.
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