It’s time to update my Taiwanese Pork Chop Rice recipe, as I’ve been craving Taiwanese food lately. I decided to make 排骨飯 again at home, using my new Tefal pan. Making this dish doesn’t require a lot of oil to deep-fry the marinated pork chops. So the Tefal 28″ Saute Pan is perfect given its generous pan size. I made this dish last year but I will post the recipe again below.
I got these beautiful bone-in pork chops at the supermarket. I dunno why for some reason eating 排骨飯 without bones just don’t taste the same (for me). :P I still have not found pork chops as big as the ones I’m used to buying at supermarkets in NY, but these are pretty close.
It’s important, when possible, to use sweet potato flour instead of corn starch to coat the marinated pork chops. Sweet potato flour is thicker and not as powdery as corn starch. This makes the flour adhere better to the pork chops and you will yield a crispy sweet crust. Here’s where you can buy sweet potato flour online.
When your pork chops are already marinated overnight, pat sweet potato flour to coat both sides of the pork chops evenly. This is a step to be done when you’re ready to begin cooking.
I am really loving the Tefal saute pan because the red dot in the center turns solid red, informing me that the right temperature of 180C for cooking has been reached. Normally I rely on gauging visually whether the oil is thoroughly heated through or not by putting a wooden chopstick into the oil and look for air bubbles.
Another way is to sprinkle a bit of sweet potato flour to see whether it sizzles. Now, all I have to do is glance at the red circle in the middle of the pan. When it has turned solid red, it’s time to fry the pork chops.
Notice that not a lot of oil is required. Just about 1/2″ should be more than enough.
Here’s my perfectly done and crispy bone-in pork chops that’ve been marinated overnight then sprinkled with sweet potato flour before frying in shallow oil. The marinade and the sweet potato flour, in my opinion, helped to retain the juiciness of the pork chops. Pork chops that are dried out, overcooked or rubbery are definitely not desirable.
Ready to be served! This time I added a few fixings to my plate of Taiwanese Pork Chop Rice such as…
Braised ground pork, pork belly and egg. I just throw all the ingredients into a slow cooker and use a spice packet for flavor.
Szechuan vegetable, as accompaniment.
Pickled garlicky cucumber, as accompaniment.
TAIWANESE PORK CHOP RICE RECIPE (Updated)
Ingredients
4 thick bone-in pork chops
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 tablespoon rice wine
1/2 tablespoon Chinese five-spice powder
Vegetable oil for frying
Sweet Potato Flour (or Cornstarch for substitute if you can’t find the former)
Method
1. With a sharp knife, make several small slits near the edges of the pork chops to keep them from curling when fried.
2. Into a large resealable plastic bag, add the soy sauce, garlic, sugar, rice wine, and five-spice powder. Place pork chops into the bag, and close the seal tightly. Carefully massage the marinade into pork chops, coating well. Refrigerate at least 1 hour, turning the bag over every so often. (I left mine to marinade overnight actually.)
3. In a large skillet, heat enough vegetable oil to fill the skillet to a depth of about 1/2 inch. Remove pork chops from resealable bag without wiping off marinade. Lightly sprinkle sweet potato flour or cornstarch on both sides of the pork chops.
4. Carefully add pork chops to skillet; cook, turning once, until golden brown on both sides and cooked through.
With all the accompaniments, this was a very hearty meal. The flavor and crunch totally hit the spot for me. :) *rubbing happy tummy* As much as I would like to travel to Taipei again and eat Taiwanese Pork Chop Rice at my favorite restaurants there, making the dish at home will have to suffice for now. Plus I got to use my new Tefal pan.
Try this updated Taiwanese Pork Chop Rice recipe and let me know how it turns out.