When Vietnamese people crave grilled foods, they usually have sườn nướng in mind. Why don’t you have them in yours, too? While this dish isn’t exactly BBQ, these pork chops are just as savory and fun to eat. They are Vietnamese cuisine at its juiciest!
Traditionally, cooking Vietnamese pork chops demands certain skills and a charcoal grill. But with modern kitchen gadgets at your fingertips, preparing this dish is now a piece of cake. Scroll down to learn how to surprise your friends at the next BBQ party with this wonderful recipe!
What Should You Know About Sườn Nướng?
Pork chops are a popular cut of meat for many people. Taken from the loin of the pig, they are lean, highly tender, and rich in nutrients (particularly proteins and minerals). While there are numerous ways to cook this cut, the Vietnamese-style one is totally worth exploring.
The name sườn nướng of this dish literally means “grilled ribs.” Locals prepare it by marinating pork chops in a flavor-packed marinade filled with aromatic spices, then charcoal-grill them to perfection. In this recipe, you will learn how to make it with an electric grill.
Vietnamese people love to have pork chops served with cơm tấm (Vietnamese broken rice) or cooked white rice and pickled vegetables for a quick breakfast or lunch. Do you want to try that delicious combo?
Kitchen Gadgets To Cook Sườn Nướng
Since this is basically a grilled dish, you’re going to need several modern kitchen appliances. The tools for making Vietnamese pork chops are as follows:
Make sure the grill tray is sufficiently large to fit all the pork chops in one go, or you will have to cook in many batches.
Ingredients For Authentic Sườn Nướng Flavour
Don’t think Vietnamese pork chops are all about, well, pork! Like other dishes from this wonderful gastronomy, this delicacy needs a lot of spices and herbs to unleash its full savor.
Instructions To Make Sườn Nướng
Although the electric grill takes care of the hardest task, there is still plenty of work to do to create the best Vietnamese pork chops. Let’s see what you need to do.
Step 1: Prepare The Aromatics For The Marinade
Mince the shallots, garlic, fresh chili, ginger, and lemongrass finely. As for lemongrass, I suggest using a meat mallet to smash it before doing any mincing to achieve the best effect.
Step 2: Tenderize The Pork Chops
You can deodorize the pork chops with a mixture of warm water and vinegar. Cleanse with clean water and pat dry with a towel. If the pork doesn’t have a strong smell, you should skip this step.
Tenderize the pork chops with a meat mallet so that they can absorb the flavors from the marinade more easily. Work evenly on both sides of each chop. Don’t use too much strength for this task, or you may make the meat too mushy.
Step 3: Marinate The Pork Chops
In a saucepan, marinate the tenderized pork chops in a mixture of shallots, garlic, fresh chili, ginger, lemongrass, oyster sauce, honey, condensed milk, soy sauce, red wine, chili powder, white pepper, and salt.
Mix the pork chops with the marinade carefully. Close the lid and leave the meat undisturbed for at least 1 hour.
Step 4: Grill The Pork Chops
Preheat the grill to 200°F for a few minutes. Then brush the grill tray with a layer of oil to prevent the meat from sticking to it. Place the pork chops on the grill tray before sending the tray to the grill. Keep the marinade for the sauce.
Cook the pork chops at 200°F for 20 – 30 minutes, then flip them and grill for another 10 minutes. Stop when the chops turn golden brown and are slightly charred around the edges.
You can also determine the doneness of the pork chops by checking their internal temperature with a food thermometer (which should display 145°F).
Step 5: Prepare The Sauce
While waiting for the pork chops to cook, you should make the accompanying sauce from the used marinade. Cook it in a hot skillet with olive oil, water, oyster sauce, and soy sauce. Stir constantly until the sauce thickens.
Step 6: Serve The Pork Chops
Plate the hot pork chops with fresh veggies. I recommend cucumbers, lettuce, and fresh tomatoes. Alternatively, you can pair the dish with pickles or steamed rice like Vietnamese people. Spoon the sauce over each pork chop and enjoy!
Storing Sườn Nướng Properly
You should store the pork chops separately from the sauce. Put them in different containers and transfer them to the fridge to keep for 3-4 days. If you choose to stack them in the freezer instead, the meat can last for 3 months, while the sauce can stay in good shape twice as long.
Refresh Your Menu With Vietnamese Pork Chops
By now, I hope you have gained one more delicious pork dish, one more amazing recipe from Vietnam, and one more way to awe your friends with your cooking skills. If you already have an electric grill, it’s time to make your meals more flavorful with this device.
In case you don’t, think about the joy that this sườn nướng delicacy and many other grilled delights can give you with an electric grill. If you have any suggestions on how to buy the best product or how to make this recipe better, please leave a comment.
Or do you simply want to talk about your experience? Feel free to do so, too. And don’t forget to share this post with your friends. See you soon in other informative posts about delicious foods from Vietnam and other countries!
Sườn Nướng Recipe (Vietnamese Pork Chops)
Equipment
- Electric Grill
- Meat mallet
- Small bowls
- BBQ tongs
- Knife
- Chopping Board
- A saucepan with a lid
Ingredients
- 400 grams pork chops
- 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 tablespoon condensed milk/ fresh milk
- 3 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 lemongrass stalk
- 1 small cup of red wine
- Ginge
- Olive oil
- Garlic
- Shallots
- Chili powder
- White pepper
- Salt
Instructions
- Smash the lemongrass with a meat mallet before mincing it like the rest.
- Mince the shallots, garlic, fresh chili, and ginger.
- Put them in a small bowl.
- Hammer out both sides of each pork chop evenly with a meat mallet.
- Toss the pork chops in a mixture of shallots, garlic, fresh chili, ginger, lemongrass, oyster sauce, honey, condensed milk, soy sauce, red wine, chili powder, white pepper, and salt. Marinate for at least 1 hour.
- Preheat the grill to 200°F for a few minutes. Oil the grill tray before placing the pork chops on it. Keep the marinade for the sauce.
- Arrange the ribs up.
- Cook the pork chops at 200°F for 15 – 25 minutes.
- Then flip them and grill for another 10 minutes and remove from the oven.
- Cook the used marinade in a hot skillet with olive oil, water, oyster sauce, and soy sauce. Stir constantly until the sauce thickens.
- Drizzle the sauce over the pork chops and serve with fresh cucumbers, lettuce, tomatoes, pickles, or steamed rice.
Video
Notes
- You should get the pork chops out of the grill when they turn golden brown and are slightly charred around the edges.
Nutrition
Richie
Content Writer
Expertise
Home Cooking, Meal Planning, Food Styling, Food Photography, Cooking-video Maker, Beverage Evaluation Expert
Education
Saigon Culinary Arts Centre, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Vietnam Australia Vocational School (VAAC), Hanoi, Vietnam
Richie, based in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, is a dynamic Content Writer with a talent for capturing the essence of culinary art.
Richie specializes in creating visually appealing and tasty content, offering a new angle on Vietnamese and other culinary traditions. With a background in graphic design and a love for food styling and photography, he expertly combines beauty with food narratives, encouraging his audience to discover the culinary world through his imaginative perspective.