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Thin and crispy Chinese restaurant-style honey garlic pork chops use common ingredients to bring you an uncommonly exciting flavor everyone will love for dinner! {Gluten-Free Adaptable}

Honey Garlic Pork Chops

4.84 from 24 votes
Thin and crispy Chinese restaurant-style honey garlic pork chops use common ingredients to bring you an uncommonly exciting flavor everyone will love for dinner! {Gluten-Free Adaptable}
To make the dish gluten-free, use dry sherry instead of Shaoxing wine. Use tamari instead of soy sauce. You should also replace the flour with the same amount of cornstarch. The pork will come out less golden, but very crispy nonetheless.
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 5 minutes
Total Time: 25 minutes
Course: Main
Cuisine: Chinese
Keyword: restaurant-style
Servings: 4 servings
Author: Maggie Zhu

Ingredients

  • 3 to 4 bone-in thin cut pork chops , about 1 lb / 450 g in total (*Footnote 1)

Marinade

  • 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 tablespoon Shaoxing wine (or dry sherry)
  • 1 teaspoon sesame oil
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

Sauce

  • 2 tablespoons honey
  • 1 teaspoon light soy sauce (or soy sauce)
  • 1 teaspoon Shaoxing wine (or dry sherry)
  • 1 teaspoon lemon juice (or rice vinegar)
  • 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
  • Pinch of white pepper
  • Pinch of black pepper
  • 2 tablespoons water

Fry

  • 1 cup vegetable oil (or other neutral oil) (*Footnote 2)
  • 4 cloves garlic , minced (*Footnote 3)
  • Sliced green onion and / or fried garlic , for garnish (Optional)

Instructions

  • Pound the pork chops with a tenderizer or the back of a heavy knife until 1/4” (1/2 cm) thick. Cut the pounded pork into bite-sized pieces and transfer to a medium-sized bowl.
  • Add all the marinade ingredients except the cornstarch and flour into the bowl with pork chops. Massage in the marinade with your hand. Marinate for 15 to 20 minutes.
  • Combine the sauce ingredients in a small bowl and stir to mix well.
  • Heat the oil in a heavy bottomed skillet until about 350°F (176°C).
  • Meanwhile, add the cornstarch and flour to the bowl with marinated pork chop. Mix until the pork is evenly coated. Add the chops to the preheated oil. Fry until both sides are golden brown, 1 to 2 minutes per side. Remove the cooked pork onto a plate.
  • Turn off the heat. Drain most of the oil from the skillet using a ladle, leaving about 1 tablespoon in the pan.
  • Turn on the heat to medium. Add the garlic. Fry until fragrant and golden, about 1 minute.
  • Pour in the sauce. Cook and stir until it reduces to a thin, syrupy consistency.
  • Add the cooked pork back to the reduced sauce. Stir a few times until it is well coated. Transfer everything to a serving plate. Garnish with sliced green onions and more fried garlic chips, if using.
  • Serve immediately as a main dish.

Notes

  1. You can either use bone-in or boneless pork chops.
  2. The result will be the best if you use a bit more oil to shallow fry the chops. Alternatively, you can spray the pork chops with a generous amount of oil and fry them in an air fryer.
  3. I fried some extra garlic chips to garnish the dish at the end. It adds a more savory taste to the pork. You can totally skip it or use store-bought fried garlic if you like.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving, Calories: 390kcal, Carbohydrates: 16.6g, Protein: 18.5g, Fat: 27.7g, Saturated Fat: 8.4g, Cholesterol: 68mg, Sodium: 358mg, Potassium: 300mg, Fiber: 0.2g, Sugar: 9.8g, Calcium: 30mg, Iron: 1mg