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Pork made with a quick marinade of lemongrass, garlic, soy and fish sauce. It's a great go-to meal, especially when you need one quick and fast.
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5 from 2 votes

Lemongrass Grilled Pork Chops

A quick and easy marinade of lemongrass, garlic, soy and fish sauce make pork chops super tasty in no time flat. For even more flavor, marinade them the night before and light up the grill or grill pan. Leftovers are great used in summer rolls, fried rice and lettuce wraps, so make extra!
Course: main
Cuisine: Vietnamese
Keyword: fast recipe, grilled pork chops, quick pork, summer grilling, vietnamese pork chop
Yield: 4

Materials

  • 1/4 cup lemongrass (from about 2 small stalks), roughly chopped
  • 3 cloves garlic, peeled
  • 2 tablespoons shallot, roughly chopped (or white onion)
  • 2 tablespoons brown sugar, light or dark
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon pepper, freshly ground
  • 1½ tablespoons canola oil (or another neutral oil)
  • 1½ tablespoons fish sauce
  • 1¼ teaspoons soy sauce
  • ½ teaspoon sorghum, molasses or dark honey
  • juice of half a lime
  • zest of one lime
  • 4 thin-cut pork shoulder chops or steaks (about 6 ounces each or 1½ pounds total), 1/2" thick

Instructions

  • In a small food processor, combine the lemongrass, garlic, shallot, brown sugar and pepper. Process until lemongrass is finely minced. Add the remaining ingredients, except for the pork.
  • Place pork chops in a shallow bowl or pan. Add the marinade. Coat the chops well with the marinade. If marinating for one hour or less, leave at room temperature. If marinating longer, cover and store in the refrigerator. (If refrigerating, allow the meat to come to room temperature 30 minutes before grilling.)
  • When ready to grill, heat a grill or grill pan to medium high. Grill the chops, turning frequently, until cooked to your liking and browned and slightly charred. Transfer to a chopping board or platter and allow to rest for 5 minutes. Serve warm.

Notes

-bone-in pork shoulder chops are what I prefer using but any thinly cut pork chop will work. Use what you prefer and cook to the doneness you like. It's perfectly fine to cook pork to medium-rare or medium (slightly pink in the center). 
-if you don't have a food processor, just mince the lemongrass, shallot and garlic very fine and combine with remaining marinade ingredients. 
 
-recipe adapted from Vietnamese Food Any Day by Andrea Nguyen.
-published 2019 by Ten Speed Press.
-purchase the book here.