Hainanese pork chops
Pork & gammon
Hainanese pork chops
The veg element is variable according to availability – just vary cooking times. A few potatoes aren't a bad addition.
Ingredients
main
- 4 pork chops
- 1 tbsp each soy sauce and sesame oil
- ½ tsp crushed garlic and five-spice powder
- 12 plain crackers, (I used Jacobs) blitzed to a medium crumb
- 2 eggs, beaten
- 1 tbsp white flour
- salt and pepper
for the sauce
- 2 tbsp sunflower oil
- 1 garlic clove, sliced and crushed
- 1 large onion, thinly sliced
- 1 tbsp spicy steak or BBQ sauce
- 2 large tomatoes, diced
- 1 tbsp tomato ketchup
- 200ml water
- 200g peas
- 1 tbsp sugar
- oil for deep-frying
Method
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Step 1
Remove the bone and fat from the chop and butterfly by slicing horizontally most of the way through the meat and opening out. Place the butterflied chops on a board and use a meat mallet or rolling pin to tap out to a thickness of about 1cm. Don't pound too hard – you don't want to turn the meat into mush.
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Step 2
Mix the soy sauce, sesame oil, garlic, five-spice, a pinch of salt and pepper, and marinate the pork for 30 minutes.
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Step 3
Make the sauce by heating the sunflower oil in a large frying pan. Add in garlic and onion and sauté until the onion is soft (about 2 minutes). Add the steak/BBQ sauce, tomatoes, tomato ketchup, and water. Bring to a boil and then add the peas (or whatever green veg you have) and stir everything to mix. Have a taste and season with more salt, pepper and/or sugar if needed. The sauce should be lightly tangy and sweet.
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Step 4
Remove the vegetables with a slotted spoon and reduce the sauce a little. Return the vegetables and keep warm while you cook the pork chops.
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Step 5
Preheat oil for deep-frying. Mix the eggs and flour with the meat and marinade and put the cracker crumbs in a bowl. Dredge the pork chops in the crumbs making sure they are well coated then carefully fry until golden brown and cooked through. Repeat with the rest of the pork. Rest for a couple of minutes before slicing on the bias and serving with the vegetables and sauce.
