Elaine’s well tested recipe to cook red braised pork chops—红烧大排.

Red braised Pork Chops | chinasichuanfood.com

Two years ago, I was served with a large bowl of noodles with a red braised pork chop as a breakfast in the city of Shanghai and I was shocked by how tender the meat is.  At that time, I was quite disappointed at the last meal in the previous day with Sichuan dishes as a topic. Most of the Sichuan dishes in Shanghai is over sweet for me but the local dishes are just extremely well balanced for my stomach.

I have been quite busy those days in my current city so failed to arrange a trip to Shanghai recently. So my solution is to test the food in my kitchen. I have failed at least 2 time before I call my red braised pork chops a perfect one– with a thin protection layer and the tenderest meat inside.

Red braised Pork Chops | chinasichuanfood.com

Ingredients

  • 4 slices pork chops (around 1 cm in thickness)
  • 4 tbsp. starch (cornstarch or sweet potato starch)
  • 1 1/2 tbsp. water
  • 2 green onions, cut into 1-inch section
  • 1 green onion, finely chopped
  • 1 small thumb ginger, sliced
  • 2 tbsp. light soy sauce
  • 1/2 tsp. sugar
  • Oil for frying

Marinating sauce

  • 1 tablespoon light soy sauce
  • 1/2 tablespoon rice wine
  • 1/8 teaspoon white pepper
  • a small pinch of salt

Steps

1. Pound the pork chops back and forth with a pounder or the back of a knife (Chinese way) then marinate with rice wine, white pepper, salt and light soy sauce for 10 to 15 minutes.

Red braised Pork Chops | chinasichuanfood.com

Red braised Pork Chops | chinasichuanfood.com

2.Mix 4 tbsp. of starch with 1 and 1/2 tbsp. water in a small bowl. Then mix with marinated pork chops. Message to make sure the pork chops are well coated.

Red braised Pork Chops | chinasichuanfood.com

3.Heat oil (the oil depth should be at least 4cm) to 160 degree C (almost smoky) and then fry the pork chop one by one until well browned. I highly recommend using deep-frying instead of pan-frying at this step because the former one can greatly shorten the cooking time and keep the tenderness of the meat. 

Red braised Pork Chops | chinasichuanfood.com

Red braised Pork Chops | chinasichuanfood.com

Heat around 1 tbsp. of oil in a pan and fry ginger and green onion over slow fire until aroma.

Red braised Pork Chops | chinasichuanfood.com

Then place fried pork chops in, add a small pinch of salt, sugar and light soy sauce. Simmer for 1 to 2 minutes. Pick the pork chops out, discard the ginger and green onion, and keep the sauce to pour over.

Red braised Pork Chops | chinasichuanfood.com

Red-braised Pork Chops

Perfect Red-braised pork chops
5 from 1 vote
Print Pin Rate
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Chinese
Keyword: Braised, pork
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes
Servings: 4 servings with steamed rice
Calories: 68kcal
Author: Elaine

Ingredients

  • 4 slices pork chops , around 1 cm in thickness
  • 4 tbsp. starch , cornstarch or sweet potato starch
  • 1.5 tbsp. water
  • 2 green onions , cut into 1-inch section
  • 1 green onion , finely chopped
  • 1 small thumb ginger , sliced
  • 2 tbsp. light soy sauce
  • 1/2 tsp. sugar
  • oil for frying

Marinating sauce

  • 1 tbsp. light soy sauce
  • 1/2 tbsp. rice wine
  • 1/8 tsp. white pepper
  • a small pinch of salt

Instructions

  • Pound the pork chops back and forth with a pounder or the back of a knife (Chinese way) then marinate with rice wine, white pepper, salt and light soy sauce for 10 to 15 minutes.
  • Mix 4 tbsp. of starch with 1 and 1/2 tbsp. water in a small bowl. Then mix with marinated pork chops.
  • Heat oil to 160 degree C (almost smoky) and then fry the pork chop one by one until well browned.
  • Heat around 1 tbsp. of oil in a pan and fry ginger and green onion over slow fire until aroma. Then place fried pork chops in, add a small pinch of salt, sugar and light soy sauce. Simmer for 1 to 2 minutes. Pick the pork chops out, discard the ginger and green onion, and keep the sauce to pour over.
  • Sprinkle chopped green onion and serve directly. Recommend serving with steamed rice.

Nutrition

Calories: 68kcal | Carbohydrates: 14g | Protein: 2g | Sodium: 628mg | Potassium: 163mg | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 25IU | Vitamin C: 1.2mg | Calcium: 10mg | Iron: 0.5mg

You can serve this with steamed rice or a simple soy sauce noodle.

Red braised Pork Chops | chinasichuanfood.com

Red braised Pork Chops | chinasichuanfood.com

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4 Comments

  1. Hello,

    I want to ask is it possible to change rice wine to something else or just omits it? And can I substitute pork chop to chicken? Thank you.

    1. Hi Mashi,
      Yes, chicken breast is great for this recipe too. If you have no access to cooking wine, you can omit it. Happy cooking.