Asian Marinated Pork Chops
An Authentic Savory Dish
For years I was a Nanny/Chef for a Taiwanese family on the North Shore of Chicago. They are huge foodies like me.
When their grandma would come to visit she would make amazing meals for us and show me some of the ways she cooked for her family.
I am not allowed to share a few of the recipes but one I am allowed to share is how she marinated her pork chops. It’s an Asian inspired marinade using soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, and Chinese five spice.
This marinade is perfect for chops, chicken, or beef. She would make these chops when she made us her Pork Chop Soup.
Pork Chop Soup is one of the recipes that I am not allowed to share, but the thinly sliced chops she added to the soup were always so flavorful and delicious.
These Asian Marinated Pork Chops are a simple, almost Teriyaki like flavor that everyone is going to love.
Scoring Your Chops
The one thing their grandma did that I never used to know to do was scoring her pork chops. I scored these chops about 1/2 inch down, on one side only.
You will need to make sure to buy a thicker cut chop for this recipe for this reason. You make a few slices on an angle going one direction, and then one less than you made going the other direction also on an angle.
These chops are marinated in soy sauce and rice wine vinegar, which has a lot of sodium. Therefore you only marinate for four hours otherwise they start to cure (harden).
The score helps the marinade absorb quickly and it allows these to cook faster.
Cooking The Asian Marinated Pork Chops On All Sides
My chops are about 1 inch thick. I think this is the perfect thickness for this particular recipe.
I got the boneless chops but I have also made this recipe with bone-in pork chops as well. These chops cooked for 8 minutes on each side, then I make sure to cook them on the sides for about one minute each, since the pork chops are thicker.
My chops also had a beautiful layer of fat on the outside and I wanted to get that nice and caramelized. I got my pork chops at Aldi.
The Marinade For The Pork Chops
You will see the full, printable ingredients and instructions for the sauce in the recipe card below. The recipe uses soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, ginger, garlic, brown sugar, black pepper, and Chinese Five Spice.
I use two teaspoons of the Chinese Five Spice. This may be too much for people who are not a fan of clove.
My suggestion is that you add 1/2 of a teaspoon at a time, taste, and then add more if you like. Reminder that the ingredients mellow out after they sit for a bit, so the flavor of the pork chops and the Chinese Five Spice won’t be as strong as when you first taste it.
In the recipe I discard the marinade, but if you wanted you can bring it to a low boil after you remove the chops, simmer for about 15 minutes to kill the bacteria, and then use it as a glaze.
Can You Use Other Meats or Tofu For The Asian Marinade?
The answer is YES! I have used this marinade on chicken and ribeye steaks. You can also use this on tofu, but I have not tried that yet.
The cook times will obviously vary but the marinade time should be about the same. I think that my friend Mandee over at TheKitchenWife.net will be making the tofu, vegan version of this soon. Check her blog for updates.
What to Serve With The Asian Marinated Pork Chops
I make my Ramen Noodle Salad with these chops. It’s an easy, light, and perfect accompaniment.
The Full Printable Recipe
Asian Marinated Pork Chops
These pork chops are marinated in Asian flavors and are so easy to make. They only have to marinate four hours and are perfect to throw on the grill, in a skillet or even in your air fryer. I like to slice them thin and serve them with my favorite Ramen Crunch Salad.
Ingredients
- 4 to 6 Boneless Pork Chops (about 1 inch thick)
- 1 Cup of Soy Sauce
- 2 tablespoons of brown sugar
- 1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
- 2 teaspoons of grated ginger
- 2 cloves of garlic, minced
- Black Pepper to taste
- Chinese Five Spice to taste ( I use 2 teaspoons, but I suggest adding a little and tasting because it can be strong for some)
- *oil for cooking
Instructions
- Pat the pork chops dry with a paper towel on both sides.
- Score your pork chops on one side only, about a half inch down through the chop. I make about 4 slits on an angle going in one direction, and 3 slits the other direction, also on an angle.
- In a baking dish combine all the ingredients until well combined, stir until the sugar somewhat dissolves.
- Add the pork chops, scored side down into the baking dish and press them down a bit to make sure the slits open up. Place in fridge for 3 hours.
- Remove from fridge at 3 hours and flip over and marinate and refrigerate one more hour.
- Remove the chops from the marinade and blot dry with a paper towel and brush them all over with a neutral tasting oil.
- Heat up your skillet with the same oil you used on the chops and add your chops, scored side down.
- These chops were about an inch thick so I cooked them for 8 minutes on each side, then used tongs to sear the sides of the chops until they were caramelized. *note that thicker or thinner chops will vary the cook time.
- Take the chops out of the pan and let rest under some loose foil for ten minutes.
- Slice thin and serve with rice or salad or any way you choose.
Videos Of The Process
If you don’t already follow me on Instagram you can watch a video of me making the marinade. You can also watch a video of me cooking the chops as well.
Going Viral On Tik Tok
This recipe has also gone viral on my Tik Tok page.
Currently it has over 1 million views! You can watch it as well!
I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I always have.