Vietnamese Grilled Pork Chop

There's a Vietnamese food joint I love and there's so much stuff on their menu that they have to number everything they make. This here is the famous Number 56. My favorite pork chop recipe and once you taste it, it could be yours as well. It's a great summer recipe because it's best grilled outdoors but since my grill is currently out of commission, I used my cast iron grill pan and it didn't disappoint. happy grilling! cheers.

you'll want to marinate this for at least 12 hours so plan of doing this the day before.

Marinade:
2 shallots, finely chopped

2 lemons, squeeze juice into marinade, cut into wedges then add to the mix.

3 Tbsp garlic, minced
1/3 cup light brown sugar 

2 Tbsp dark soy sauce
1/4 cup fish sauce or patis
2 tablespoons mirin  or rice vinegar

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
kosher salt
2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

4 bone-in pork chops

Grill in a grill pan under medium high heat. 4-5 minutes on each side, depending on the thickness. 

since there's sugar involved, expect it to smoke and burn but it's not all bad. Use the marinade as a deglazer (not a word but you get what I mean right?)by brushing it on the pan itself. This will keep it from burning and it will flavor and bring some color to your chop. 

all those burnt bits don't have to be scraped and discarded, add some marinade to the pan to deglaze it and the pork chops will absorb both the color and flavor from it. trust me.

 The finished product. Try serving this with a cucumber and vinegar sauce to freshen it up!