Vietnamese Grilled Lemongrass Pork Chops (Thit Heo Nuong Xa) Recipe

By msweeney

[Photographs: J. Kenji López-Alt]

Thit heo nuong xa—Vietnamese lemongrass grilled pork chops—are one of the easiest Vietnamese restaurant dishes to replicate at home. You don't need the special bread required for a good banh mi. You don't need to spend hours constructing a delicately aromatic broth, like with pho. This is a dish that takes maybe half an hour of active work, at most. All you need is a few common ingredients for the marinade—shallots, lemongrass, garlic, sugar, pepper, and fish sauce—some thinly sliced pork chops, and a nice, hot fire.

Ingredients

• For the Pork:
• 1 1/2 1 1/2 1/2 teaspoons ground white pepper
• Pinch Pinch kosher salt
• 3 3 4 to 5 2 60g to 5 inches only, outer leaves discarded, tender core thinly sliced (about 2 ounces; 60g sliced lemongrass) or may substitute zest from one lemon
• 1 1 1 30g shallot, roughly chopped (about 1 ounce; 30g total)
• 4 4 20g) 4 medium cloves garlic, roughly chopped (3/4 ounce; about 20g)
• 1/3 1/3 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 1/4 1/4 cup (60ml) fish sauce
• 2 2 2 tablespoons (30ml) vegetable oil
• 1 1/2 1 1/2 1/2 pounds (680g) thin-cut pork chops, preferably blade end, with plenty of fat and marbling

Details

Adapted from seriouseats.com

Preparation

Step 1

1. For the Pork: Add pepper, salt, lemongrass, shallot, garlic, palm sugar, and pre-ground white pepper (if using) to mini food chopper.

2.Transfer marinade to a bowl and whisk in fish sauce and vegetable oil. Add pork chops, turning them to coat all surfaces. Transfer pork to a gallon-size zipper-lock bag, press out the air, and seal bag. Marinate at room temperature, turning pork once or twice, for at least 30 minutes or up to 3 hours. Alternatively, transfer to refrigerator and marinate, turning once or twice, for up to 12 hours before proceeding.