Tender and juicy pork chop served with sweet aromatic caramelized onion along with its tasty sweet and sour sauce is a very popular HK cha chaan teng food.
If you are looking for an easy and tasty recipe for dinner, this Hong Kong-style pork chop with onion fits the bill.
What is Hong Kong pork chop with onion anyway?
The pork chops are pan-fried and then smothered with lots of caramelized onion and sweet and tangy ketchup and Worchestershire-based sauce (I could never pronounce the latter correctly!). Yes, those two are what make this pork chop, a Hong Kong-style pork chop. They are popular condiments used in Hong Kong because of British influence. If you ask me, this is pretty much a sweet and sour pork chop! It is one of a very popular food item in any HK-style cafe/ cha chaan teng
How to make Hong Kong cha chaan teng pork chop with onion
1. Use a meat mallet to tenderize the pork chops. If you don’t have one, you can use the back of a knife or a pestle (take care not to pound too much that you break the meat with the pestle)
2. Put all ingredients for marinade in a bowl. Add the pork chops and combine to make sure the marinade coats the pork chops. Cover and let them marinade for 15 minutes while you prepare your sauce ingredients
3. Cut the onion into wedges. Combine all ingredients for the sauce in a bowl. Set aside. Preheat 2 Tbsp of oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Carefully add the pork chops and cook for about 2 minutes on each side. The pork chops won’t be fully cooked yet, we just want to sear them for better flavor.The surface should be slightly charred. Remove from the skillet
4. There should still be some oil in the skillet, if not, add another one tablespoon. Add your onion wedges to the same oil. Reduce the heat to medium-low. We want to carmelize the onion. This may take 10-15 minutes
5. Add the sauce ingredients in and make sure to use your spatula to scrape the bits that stick to the bottom and side of the skillet. Those are good stuff that gives extra flavor. Increase the heat to medium-high to let the sauce comes to a simmer
6. Once the sauce has come to a simmer. Have a taste and adjust to your preference. Like I’ve mentioned before that you can always adjust the amount of ingredients if you want it sourer, sweeter, more savory, etc. The amount I give is just a baseline. Customize it until you are happy with the taste
7. Add the seared pork chops back in and let them cook for about 5 minutes. The sauce will reduce slightly. Combine the cornstarch and water and pour into the sauce and keep stirring. The sauce will thicken. Remove from the heat
8. Serve while they are warm over a bed of rice, noodles, crusty bread, buns. You will be happy I hope!
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The recipe is adapted from here.
Hong Kong Pork Chop with Onion
Ingredients
- 450 gr boneless pork loin chops about 1 1/2 inch thick
- 475 gr onion about 1 medium-size. See notes
- 2 Tbsp oil or more as needed
Marinade:
- 2 Tbsp Shaoxing wine
- 2 tsp sugar
- 1 Tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tsp ground white pepper
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 Tbsp oil
- 2 Tbsp cornstarch
Sauce: (this is just for reference, you can customize the quantity of ingredients to your preference)
- 60 gr ketchup
- 1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 2 Tbsp Chinese black vinegar you can sub with balsamic vinegar
- 360 ml water
- 1 Tbsp soy sauce
- ½ tsp sesame oil
- 2 Tbsp sugar or more as needed
- 1 tsp salt
To thicken the sauce:
- 1 Tbsp cornstarch
- 1 Tbsp water
Instructions
Tenderize the pork chops:
- Use a meat mallet to tenderize the pork chops. If you don't have one, you can use the back of a knife or a pestle (take care not to pound too much that you break the meat with the pestle)
Marinate the pork chops:
- Put all ingredients for marinade in a bowl. Add the pork chops and combine to make sure the marinade coats the pork chops. Cover and let them marinade for 15 minutes while you prepare your sauce ingredients
Prepare the onion and the sauce:
- Cut the onion into wedges. Combine all ingredients for the sauce in a bowl. Set aside
Cook the pork chops:
- Preheat 2 Tbsp of oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Carefully add the pork chops and cook for about 2 minutes on each side. The pork chops won't be fully cooked yet, we just want to sear them for better flavor.The surface should be slightly charred. Remove from the skillet
Prepare the sauce:
- There should still be some oil in the skillet, if not, add another one tablespoon. Add your onion wedges to the same oil. Reduce the heat to medium-low. We want to carmelize the onion. This may take 10-15 minutes
- Add the sauce ingredients in and make sure to use your spatula to scrape the bits that stick to the bottom and side of the skillet. Those are good stuff that gives extra flavor. Increase the heat to medium-high to let the sauce comes to a simmer
Put everything together:
- Once the sauce has come to a simmer. Have a taste and adjust to your preference. Like I've mentioned before that you can always adjust the amount of ingredients if you want it sourer, sweeter, more savory, etc. The amount I give is just a baseline. Customize it until you are happy with the taste. Add the seared pork chops back in and let them cook for about 5 minutes. The sauce will reduce slightly
Thicken the sauce:
- Combine the cornstarch and water and pour into the sauce and keep stirring. The sauce will thicken. Remove from the heat
Serve:
- Serve while they are warm over a bed of rice, noodles, crusty bread, buns. You will be happy I hope!
