Salt And Pepper Pork Chop 椒鹽豬扒

Move over, lemon chicken and beef in black bean sauce! Salt and pepper dishes are the real crowd pleasers these days. Though being a Cantonese classic many Vietnamese and Thai restaurants are starting to list them on their special boards as well.

Some of our friends who were die hard sweet and sour fans are now switching to salt and pepper dishes ; I am extremely happy with the very wise move and this is the result of the constant pestering from one of the new converts. You may substitute the pork chops with chicken ribs, quails, calamari or even tofu for those non meat eaters.

P.S I will put up a Malaysian Monday post on Wednesday, meanwhile please keep the entries coming! 

serve 4 as part of a Chinese meal

you'll need;

3 pieces (~ 400 g) of pork chops (loin, neck or rump)

6 cloves of garlic, chopped

4 spring onions, chopped

2 red chilies, sliced

1 tsp of five spice powder

1 tbs of Sichuan pepper, toasted and lightly pounded

2 tbs of black pepper, lightly pounded

1/2 tbs of salt

1 tsp of chicken powder

dash of Chinese cooking wine
extra corn flour for coating

for the marinade;

1 tbs of oyster sauce

2 tbs of light soy

1 tsp of sesame oil

dash of Chinese cooking wine

1 tsp of grated ginger

1 small egg, lightly beaten

3 to 4 tbs of corn flour

oil for frying

Prepare the aromatics and set aside.

Pound and flatten the pork chops with a kitchen mallet.

Marinate pork with marinade for at least an hour.

Remove excess marinade from the pork chops and lightly coat with corn flour before frying in batches. Drain well and rest for 2 minutes before cutting into strips.

Saute garlic, chili and spring onion with a little oil until golden then add in the pepper, five spice powder and salt, finally add a dash of Chinese cooking wine to the mixture and when the alcohol has evaporated remove from heat.

Place pork chop strips on a plate and place the toppings over.