Pork Chops

Sometimes when I buy pork chops I like to pre-marinade them and leave the lot sitting comfy in the freezer. It saves me the trouble of scratching my head for what to cook on nights when I feel a bit tired or lazy and can't be bothered to experiment.

A good marinade I learned from Saturday Cooks (ITV1, 11.30am, Saturdays...duh) is an oriental style flavouring that is really easy to prepare. Get some ginger, coriander (or cilantro as the Americans call it), basil and chop them up very finely, almost into a paste. Get a blender to do the job if you have one lying around screaming for attention. Then get a slosh of fish sauce, soy sauce, tsiao tsing wine (or any chinese cooking rice wine), sesame oil and some sugar. Mix everything in a bowl to blend all the flavours together. Add more herbs if you like, or some chopped chillies if you feel like you lack fire in your soul. Cover the pork chops with the marinade and you're ready to go after leaving it for about 10 minutes. It will taste better if you leave it overnight though.




An even simpler marinade I frequently use is simply powdered 'char siew' flavouring. Its available in most oriental supermarkets and tastes quite good. Just sprinkle the red powder generously over the meat and let the two have some quality bonding time together.

No oven? No problem. A hot frying pan or a barbecue pit will do the job nicely. However, I do love my oven. :)

Pre-heated to about 220 Celcius, I just pop the meat in for about 30 minutes before switching to grill mode for a further 10 minutes to get a nice crispy outside and juicy, tender flesh inside. Sometimes I cut the skin away, sprinkle on some salt, dry it on some paper towels and pop it in too to make crackling.

To balance the meal I usually just clobber something together from whatever veggies I have in the fridge at that moment. A simple stir fry with garlic and onions and my meal is complete.

Simple and delicious. :)