Nourish: Cut thinner, this chop's a winner
If you often find pork chops to be on the dry and bland side, this recipe could change your mind about them. Here, the lean meat is infused and made extra tender with a boldly flavorful Asian marinade. And because the chops are cut extra thin - almost as thin as minute steaks - they are not as chewy as thick ones, and the marinade is able to permeate.
With a mouthwatering mixture of soy sauce, fresh orange juice, garlic, ginger, sesame oil and Sriracha, the marinade does double duty as a flavor agent for the chops and as a sauce for the accompanying vegetable. After making the marinade, you simply set some aside for the bok choy, then add the rest to a zip-top bag with the chops. One hour of marinating does the trick if you are in a rush, but if at all possible, let them sit longer, up to eight hours, for maximum effect.
Everything is done in a flash, so when you are ready to cook, make sure you have the bok choy and scallions prepped before you start; if you're like me, you'll want rice for serving, so have that ready as well. Cook the chops in an extra-large skillet in two batches, so they have enough space between them to get that beautiful caramelization - just two minutes per side - then transfer them to a plate. The chops leave a coating in the pan, called a fond, that dissolves into a deeply flavorful lacquer for the vegetable as it cooks in the same pan.
The reserved marinade added at the end ensures a lovely sauce for the bok choy. It all adds up to an easy, lip-smackingly delicious dish that puts pork chops in a new light.
• Ellie Krieger blogs and offers a weekly newsletter at www.elliekrieger.com.