I'm not a pork chop person. I find that most of the time if I get it in a restaurant, it is dry, overcooked, and doesn't have much flavour. But I know that with the right execution, pork chop can be delicious, so I decided to apply a Thai marinade to it which has coconut milk to keep the chops extra juicy, and serve it sliced with the ultimate Thai dipping sauce for meat - nam jim jaew.
To be clear, Thai people don't eat pork chops whole the way Westerners do. Typically this cut of pork gets sliced into thin pieces and then stir fried. For grilling, we prefer fattier cuts such as pork jowl. But since pork chops are the most common cut of pork here, I wanted to find a way to make this widely accessible cut delicious!
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Turmeric Grilled Pork Chops with Nam Jim Jeaw
Pork chops that are actually flavourful and juicy, with the classic Thai meat dipping sauce! I'm not a pork chop fan, but these were delish.
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Ingredients
- 2 pork chops, about 350 g
- ¼ teaspoon white peppercorns
- 2 cloves garlic
- 5 cilantro stems, or 2 cilantro roots, chopped
- 4 inches lemongrass, from the bottom half, thinly sliced (optional)
- 2 teaspoon sugar
- ½ teaspoon turmeric powder, or about 1-inch of fresh turmeric
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon fish sauce
- ¼ cup coconut milk
- Sticky rice, for serving (if desired)
Dipping Sauce: Nam Jim Jeaw
- 1 tablespoon jasmine rice or glutinous rice, uncooked
- 2 tablespoon tamarind paste, (see note 1)
- 1 tablespoon fish sauce
- 1 tablespoon lime juice
- 1 tablespoon palm sugar, finely chopped, packed
- 2 tablespoon finely diced shallots
- 1 teaspoon roasted chili flakes, or to taste (see note 2)
- 3 tablespoon chopped herbs, such as cilantro, green onions, mint, or sawtooth coriander
- ⅓ cup diced tomato, optional
Notes
- Use tamarind paste from Thailand which comes in plastic tubs or glass jars. Sometimes they're labelled "tamarind concentrate." Do not use tamarind paste from India for this.
- Toasting the chili flakes are optional but adds a nice smokiness. You can buy store bought chili flakes and toast them in a dry skillet on medium heat for a few minutes until they darken and smell smokey. Or buy whole dried chilies, toast them in a dry skillet until charred spots form, then grind in a coffee grinder. (Arbol chilies are a good "medium heat" option.)
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Subscribe to my YouTube ChannelInstructions
- If your pork chops are the standard thickness, about ¾-1 inch thick, I suggest butterflying them to make thinner pieces so they can absorb more marinade and become more flavourful, adn they'll take less time to grill.2 pork chops
- Grind white peppercorns into a powder, then add garlic and cilantro stems and pound into a fine paste.¼ tsp white peppercorns, 2 cloves garlic, 5 cilantro stems
- Add the lemongrass and pound into a fine paste. If using fresh turmeric, thinly slice it and pound it into a paste as well. If using turmeric powder, simply add it.4 inches lemongrass, ½ tsp turmeric powder
- Add the sugar, soy sauce, fish sauce, and coconut milk and stir until the sugar is completely dissolved.2 tsp sugar, 1 Tbsp soy sauce, ¼ cup coconut milk, 1 Tbsp fish sauce
- Add the pork chops into a mixing bowl or a ziptop bag and add the marinade. Mix well, ensuring the marinade gets in between the pieces. Let it sit for at least 20 mins, longer if you have time. You can do this up to one day in advance. Meanwhile, make the dipping sauce (recipe below).
- To grill, preheat the grill over high heat and get it up to 400F (200C). Grill the pork chops with the lid open, flipping them after a minute or so once you have nice grill marks. I flip the pork a total of 3 times, with about 1 minute between flips, but this will vary from grill to grill and also the thickness of the pork.
- Once you have beautiful grill marks on all sides, check the pork internal temp. You can pull the pork from the grill if the internal temp has reached 135F (carry over cooking will take it to 145F which is the safe internal temp for cooking pork). If the pork is not done, close the lid and cook it for another minute or so to cook through, exact timing will depend on the strength of your grill and how cold the pork is right now, so use your judgment!
- Let the pork rest for at least 5 minutes before slicing. Slice thinly and serve with nam jim jeaw and sticky rice. Enjoy!Sticky rice
Dipping Sauce: Nam Jim Jeaw
- Note: If you're unfamilir with nam jim jeaw, I recommend reading my post on nam jim jeaw here.Make the toasted rice powder by adding the raw rice into a small dry skillet over medium high heat. Stir constantly until the grains are dark brown (it may get a bit smokey). Remove from the pan immediately to stop the toasting, and grind into a powder using a mortar and pestle or coffee grinder.1 Tbsp jasmine rice or glutinous rice
- In a small bowl, combine the tamarind paste, fish sauce, lime juice and sugar; stir until the sugar is mostly dissolved.*If using chopped palm sugar, any stubborn chunks that won't dissolve after a good stirring should dissolve in 5 minutes or so as they sit in the liquid. So no need to worry about them unless you're serving it immediately; in which case you can warm it up in the microwave briefly (5-8 seconds) to help the final bits of sugar dissolve. Smashing the chunks with a spoon will also help.2 Tbsp tamarind paste, 1 Tbsp fish sauce, 1 Tbsp lime juice, 1 Tbsp palm sugar
- Add the shallots and chili flakes and stir to mix. If using tomatoes, stir them in at this point.2 Tbsp finely diced shallots, 1 tsp roasted chili flakes, ⅓ cup diced tomato
- Close to serving time, add the toasted rice powder and all of the fresh herbs; stir to mix.3 Tbsp chopped herbs
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