Juicy 15-Minute Pork Chops

This was the recipe that made me fall in love with thick cuts of meat.

See, as an Asian, I’ve been taught to be deathly afraid of pink steak/pork/fish/clowns.

Rule of thumb: if the meat isn’t cooked to death, neither is the bacteria.

My carnivorous experience wasn’t juicy, tasty, or tender. It was basically the same old beef, pork, or chicken stir-fry.

Every.

Single.

Day.

But one day, I was watching some YouTube cooking videos (it’s a perfectly normal guilty pleasure) and I was inspired by the many variations of “How to Cook the Perfect Steak.”

The very next day, I went and bought a thick cut of pork chops.

Then I cooked it, and I loved it.

So I ate it.

Here’s a printable version!

Notes: Despite the warnings of my elders, I like pork medium well. For well done, add 2 minutes to oven time; for medium, subtract 2 minutes.

Taste & Texture: These chops are moist and tender with a slight chew to them. This particular sauce gives a half-sweet, half-savory flavor. Just when you think the sweetness is too much, the soy sauce hits your taste buds and brings it back to Saltyland. It’s kind of awesome.

Ingredients:

• 2 thick cut pork chops
• salt n pepper

For the marinade:

• ¼ cup soy sauce
  
• ½ cup milk
• ½ cup water
• 2 tbsp sugar

For the sauce:

• half of the marinade
• 1/8 cup water + 1 tsp cornstarch
• 1 tbsp butter
• dash of sugar
• dash of vinegar
• dash of dijon mustard

Steps:

0. Prepare the meat. I like to stab it multiple times, pound it with a tenderizer, then marinate overnight (or at least 20 minutes). Use only half of the marinade; you’ll use the rest for the sauce.

I like my meat tender, okay?

1. Preheat oven to 300F. Heat skillet on medium-high and pour in a good layer of oil.

2. Season the pork chops with salt and pepper and put in the skillet.

I used garlic pepper because I’m fancy.

3. Brown the meat.

Brown one side (2 minutes)

then render (melt) the strip of fat on the edge (1 minute)

Then brown the other side (2 minutes)

4. Now put it all in the oven and bake for 3 minutes. Or 1 minute for medium and 5 minutes for well done.

Also get a napkin to wipe off your drool

5. Meanwhile, make the sauce. In a skillet, dissolve 1 tsp cornstarch in 1/8 cup water. Add in all other sauce ingredients. Simmer until it’s nice and thick.

This tastes disgusting by itself, by the way, not that I tried.

6. You’re done; now relax and let the pork chops rest for at least 10 minutes. Do not skip this! Resting meat allows it to retain its juices.

And allows you to retain your juices, because that was a thrilling pork adventure.

Now slice up that delicious pork chop.

Aw yeah look at that juicy pink meat.

Now drizzle it in that saucy sauce.

Mmm sauce. Look at that color. Look at that meat. That sizzle.
Okay stop gawking and eat it already.

Will do.

Here’s the printable!

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