Vietnamese Grilled Lemongrass Pork Chops

Pork chops: Cut each slab of pork loin into three equal slices. Tenderize each slice with the back of a knife/cleaver. You should end up with 9 slices of pork loin.

In a food processor, puree lemongrass, shallot, and garlic into a coarse paste. Transfer to a mixing bowl, stir in coconut palm sugar, fish sauce, oil, ground white pepper, and salt. Add in the thinly sliced pork, coat each slice well with the marinating sauce, and set the pork aside in the fridge to marinate at least 2 hours and up to overnight. Return to room temperature prior to grilling.

Heat a cast-iron grill pan on medium-high heat for 5 minutes. You can check if the pan is ready by flicking a few drops of water on to the grill pan. If the water evaporates quickly, it’s ready. Also, you don’t want the pan to be too hot, meaning you shouldn’t see smoke rising from the pan.

Dip a brush/paper towel in oil and rub the surface of the preheated grill pan to prevent food from sticking to the pan, then start placing the marinated pork onto the hot surface.

Grill both sides of the pork until slightly charred, up to 2 minutes per side should be enough.

Let the cooked pork chops rest for 10 minutes on a cutting board covered loosely with a piece of aluminum foil, then cut into thin strips and serve with steamed white rice.

Nuoc cham: Stir together all the chili sauce ingredients until the sugar has completely dissolved. Serve the grilled pork chops with the chili sauce.