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Pan fried Pork Chop with Tomato Tom Yum Sauce

This pan fried pork chop with tomato tom yum sauce is easy enough to cook on a weekday evening, and fancy enough to serve at a dinner party.
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 25 minutes
Course: Main
Cuisine: Fusion, Thai
Servings: 4
Author: Maggie Zhu

Ingredients

Pork chop

  • 4 bone-in thin pork chops about 1/2-inch or 1-cm in thickness
  • 2 tablespoons soy sauce
  • 1/3 cup potato starch
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil

Tomato tom yum sauce

  • 1 can (15-ounce / 426-gram) Muir Glen tomato sauce (no salt added)
  • 1/4 cup chopped purple onion
  • 1/4 cup chopped lower end of lemongrass (or 2 teaspoons lemongrass powder) (*see footnote 1)
  • 1/4 cup sliced galangal (or 1 teaspoon galangal powder)
  • 4 Kaffir lime leaves (or 1/2 teaspoon Kaffir lime leaf powder)
  • 1/4 teaspoon chili powder
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • 2 teaspoons fish sauce
  • 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice , generated from 1/2 lime
  • Chopped cilantro leaves for garnish (Optional)

(Optional) Sides

  • 2 carrots , sliced
  • 1/2 small head cabbage , sliced

Instructions

  • Combine pork chops and soy sauce in a large pan. Use a spatula to coat both sides of the pork chops with soy sauce. Let marinate for 10 minutes.
  • (Optional) If you’re cooking a side to serve with the pork chops, chop the vegetables for it now. I used a julienne peeler to slice the carrot very thin, for a quick stir-fry. (*see footnote 2)
  • Add tomato sauce, purple onion, lemongrass, galangal, Kaffir lime leaves, chili powder, and sugar into a blender or food processor. Pulse a few times. Mix until the herbs are well blended into the tomato sauce. Transfer to a sauce pan.
  • Heat the tomato tom yum sauce over medium heat until it starts to bubble. Turn to low heat, cover, and simmer for 5 minutes. Stir occasionally to prevent from burning.
  • When the tomato sauce reaches desired consistency, remove it from the stove. Add fish sauce and lime juice. Mix well.
  • While simmering the sauce, prep and cook the pork chops. Spread potato starch on a large plate. Coat pork chops with potato starch and shake off any extra.
  • Place a strainer on a big bowl. Set it near the stove.
  • Heat oil in a large skillet until hot. Add 2 pork chops. Cook 2 to 3 minutes, until the bottom side turns golden. Flip and cook for another 1 to 2 minutes, until the juice runs clear when you poke the pork chop with a fork. Transfer the pork chop to the strainer to cool. If there is not enough oil in the pan, add another tablespoon of oil. Continue to cook the rest of the pork chops. (*see footnote)

Side

  • For a quick side, saute cabbage and carrot immediately after cooking the pork chops. There will still be some oil mixed with pork fat in the pan, and the pan will be very hot. The veggies will be seared immediately and lightly infused with the pork flavor. Season with salt and pepper. The side dish will be ready in a minute.

Serve

  • Right before serving, transfer the pork chops onto serving plates. Garnish with cilantro leaves. Serve warm with the tomato sauce and vegetables (or baked vegetables) on the side.

Notes

  1. You don’t need to blend the ingredients if you’re using powdered spices. Simply mix everything in a saucepan and heat it up.
  2. Instead of using the stir fried cabbage and carrot side in this recipe, you can use other vegetables for the stir fry (such as mustard greens, kale, cabbage, carrots, zucchini, etc). Or you can bake vegetables in the oven while preparing and cooking the pork chops. Eggplant, peppers, carrots, green beans, and potatoes will be good options for a baked side.

Nutrition

Serving: 457g, Calories: 496kcal, Carbohydrates: 31.2g, Protein: 36.6g, Fat: 27.1g, Saturated Fat: 8.5g, Cholesterol: 60mg, Sodium: 647mg, Potassium: 655mg, Fiber: 5.5g, Sugar: 11.9g, Vitamin A: 5600IU, Vitamin C: 64.4mg, Calcium: 60mg, Iron: 2.3mg