Vietnamese Grilled Pork Steaks- “Thit Nuong” Recipe
This is popular traditional Vietnamese dish, thịt nuong, is one tasty grilled pork! NOM NOM NOM
And, since it’s finally warmer out- throwing these on a grill gets those perfect charred marks and a more smoky flavor. When my parents wanted an easy dinner this was often served with just rice and a side of my parents fish dipping sauce, Nuoc Mam Cham (see recipe for dip below).
Bun Thit Nuong- “Bun” translates to noodles in Vietnamese so if you want to have this with vermecelli noodles as a noodle bowl, see my recipe -here-.
*Fun fact- even though I’m Vietnamese American, I can’t speak Vietnamese but I can understand it almost fluently. Part of my food journey is not only to document all my parents recipes, but also learn how to properly pronounce these dishes and learn a little background on the dishes.
The secret here is how my parents used honey and brown sugar in the pork marinade. This is the second time I made this but the addition of the lemon grass adds a really nice aromatic to the pork chops while the honey adds a touch of sweetness and helps add color and caramelizes the edges of the pork.
Using quality fresh cracked black pepper also helps enhance the flavor as well as a quality fish sauce like Red Boat or the Vietnamese 3 crab brand (my dad’s favorite). My favorite black peppercorns are from Jacobsen Salt Co.
*Make sure your grill is between 350 to 450 degrees so your pork chops don’t stick stubbornly to the grill.
*Make sure pork chops are cooked by using a thermometer, interior meat should be at least 145 degrees to be properly cooked.
*Don’t throw out the marinade, you can use it to brush on extra sauce mid-grilling, OR you pour the leftover marinade in a pan and bring it to a boil for a few minutes (you can brush this over the meat after they’re done for a nice saucy glaze!
DIPPING SAUCE
Nuoc Mam Cham
See recipe -here-.
INGREDIENTS
1.5 lb thin cut pork chops
Scallions (optional)- cut into thin slices for garnishing
PORK MARINADE
1 tbs shallots minced (or white scallion bottoms minced)
3 tbs minced lemon grass
2 garlic cloves minced
1 tbs brown sugar
1 1/2 tbs honey
4 tbs fish sauce
2 tbs soy sauce
3/4 tbs fresh cracked pepper (or half tbs of
1 tsp salt
1/4 cup vegetable oil
PREPARATION
1. Mince garlic, lemon grass, and shallots and whip marinade in a bowl with sugar, fish sauce, soy sauce, black pepper, and oil until sugar dissolves.
2. Pour marinade into zip lock bag with pork and seal (removing all air as possible). Let marinate the meat for 2-6 hours, or overnight for best results in fridge.
4. Place pork on a wire tray to remove excess marinade/liquid before grilling and let it set to room temperature.
*Don’t throw out the marinade, you can use it to brush on extra sauce mid-grilling, OR you pour the leftover marinade in a pan and bring it to a boil for a few minutes (you can brush this over the meat after they’re done for a nice saucy glaze!
I grilled these on a gas grill as per below, depending on the thickness and size of your steaks it may cook faster/longer:
Turn up grill to high, weight till your grill gets up to like 375 degrees and grill pork about about 3-4 min on each side. The trick here is to not to continuously flip these bad boys. You are literally only flipping them once on the grill, one side at 3-4 min and flip over and grill for another 3-4 min, by doing this you will get nice even charred marks. (PS- your meat is done when internal meat temperature is 145 degrees).
OR fry in Pan: Heat about a couple tbs of oil in pan on high heat in cast iron skillet (just enough oil to cover the bottom of pan). Wait till oil is thin and glossy then pan fry pork chops on high until meat is cooked through and golden brown (about 5 min, 3-4 min on each side (possibly longer) depending on how thick your pork chops are).
Garnish: Finish off with some fresh scallions for color and serve with a side of fish dipping sauce and a bowl of hot jasmine rice!