Vietnamese Caramelised Pork Chops with Nuoc Mam (Dipping Sauce) 🇻🇳

A popular Vietnamese dish, pork steaks are marinated with aromatics, then grilled on a hot plate until caramelised and smoky, eaten with Nuoc Mam which is a punchy dipping sauce.  They can also be barbecued or pan fried as in this recipe.  Use your favourite cut of pork chops, bone-in or out, with some fat or without, but they must be thinly sliced (about 1cm / ½" thick).  I use thin pork loin chops which are rather lean and conveniently come in a packet from the supermarket.  Serve over rice or rice noodles with the dipping sauce on the side, slices of tomatoes, cucumbers, and some pickled daikon and carrots.

Serves 4

INGREDIENTS

• 500g / 1lb 2oz thin pork steaks
• 1 lemon grass
• 3 garlic cloves
• 2 purple shallots
• 2 spring onions
• 1 tablespoon fish sauce
• ½ teaspoon dark soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon palm sugar or brown sugar
• a sprinkle of freshly ground black pepper
• 2 teaspoons vegetable oil

For the Nuoc Mam:

• 1 tablespoon caster sugar
• 2 tablespoons hot water
• 1 tablespoon fish sauce
• 2 tablespoons lime juice
• 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
• 1 red cayenne chilli, deseeded & finely chopped

METHOD

1. To make the marinade, roughly chop lemongrass, garlic, shallots and spring onions.  Place in the bowl of a small processor and blend into a rough paste.  Add fish sauce, dark soy, sugar, black pepper and give it a final blitz to combine.
2. In a lidded container, place pork steaks and coat well with the marinade.  Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour to marinate.
3. Add 2 teaspoons of oil to a large frying pan over medium-high heat until hot.  With a pair of tongs, place pork steaks onto the pan, in 2 batches, and cook until both sides are nicely caramelised, about 2 minutes per side.  (Once the first batch is cooked, wipe the pan clean by pushing a scrunched up piece of paper towel around with your pair of tongs to remove any charred bits of marinade before cooking the second batch.)
4. Serve with the Nuoc Mam dipping sauce.

For the Nuoc Mam:

1. In a small bowl, combine hot water with sugar.  Stir to dissolve sugar.
2. Add remaining ingredients and mix well.
3. Taste and adjust seasonings as required to achieve a balance of sweet, sour, salty and spicy flavour.