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Looking for a dish to cook in just 30 minutes? I recommend an all-time favorite Chinese-style salt and pepper pork chops. It is crispy, juicy, and flavorful thanks to its delicious marinade.
What sets this dish apart from other pork chop recipes is its main ingredient – Chinese salt and pepper seasoning. Try my easy recipe and serve this dish for lunch or dinner.
What Is Chinese Salt And Pepper Pork Chops?
Pork chops have been a favorite for a variety of recipes, from honey garlic pork chops to crispy fried pork chops.
In my recipe, we cook pork chops with a delicious marinade. The marinade is a combination of minced garlic, light soy sauce, oyster sauce, black pepper powder, and sweet potato flour.
After marinating and frying in oil, we sprinkle the pork chops with a crowd-pleaser seasoning – Chinese salt and pepper seasoning.
If you are unfamiliar with this special seasoning, you should know it isn’t your regular salt and pepper as it is a mix of Sichuan peppercorn, fennel seed, shrimp skin, white sesame, salt, Chinese Five Spice Powder, and paprika. With its combination of 6 spices, you get a unique blend of sweet, salty, savory, warm, and earthy flavors.
This seasoning is used for almost any fried dish, including Salt And Pepper Potatoes, Salt And Pepper Tofu, Salt And Pepper Chicken Wings, Salt And Pepper Shrimp, and Salt And Pepper Fish.
If you’d like to try this recipe with other pork cuts, I recommend my other pork recipe, salt and pepper pork using sliced pork butts.
Cooking Tips And Alternatives For Salt And Pepper Pork Chops
Before starting with my recipe, quickly read my cooking suggestions and recommended alternatives to the recipe’s ingredients. Some ingredients are easily substituted with the closest alternative or left out from the recipe if you prefer.
- Pork Meat: Pork chops are loin cuts taken from the hips to the shoulders. It is a type of lean meat that is generally low in fat. You can substitute pork chops with pork tenderloin or pork steaks. When picking out pork meat, make sure it is pinkish to red with fat marbling. It should not have a foul smell, pale color, and dark-colored bones.
- Pork Slices: Pork chops are typically cut into thin slices about 1 centimeter thick. In this recipe, we tenderize the pork slices by pounding them with the spine or back of the knife. You can also use a meat hammer or pounder to tenderize the meat. Tenderizing the pork is important to make it less difficult to cut and chew.
- Marinade: The pork chops get their base flavor from the savory marinade. I used minced garlic, light soy sauce, oyster sauce, and sweet potato flour for the marinade. It should be well mixed and massaged onto the pork chops. If you notice the marinade becomes too dry, you can add a bit of water to keep it moist and loosen the flour. After mixing the marinade with the pork chops, we add a teaspoon of oil as well. The oil helps transfer flavors onto the meat and seals in moisture to make it juicy. Plus, the oil is helpful in balancing out the strong flavors of the soy sauce from overpowering.
- Garlic: The dish gets its nutty and garlicky flavors from the minced garlic. You can swap 1 garlic clove with 1/8 tsp of garlic powder or 1/4 tsp of granulated garlic.
- Light soy sauce: Light soy sauce provides the umami flavors of the pork chops. You can substitute light soy sauce with dark soy sauce; however, you should adjust the amount since dark soy sauce is thicker and saltier. Tamari, liquid aminos, coconut aminos, and gluten-free soy sauce are also great alternatives to light soy sauce.
- Oyster sauce: Oyster sauce is comparable to the flavors of fish sauce, soy sauce, and barbecue sauce. If you don’t have oyster sauce, you can use hoisin sauce, teriyaki sauce, kecap manis, Worcestershire sauce with soy sauce and sugar, oyster-flavored sauce, or fish sauce.
- Black pepper powder: Black pepper powder adds heat to the meat and woody and piney flavors. You can use pepper powder or freshly cracked peppers. The closest alternatives to black peppercorns are green peppercorns, Sichuan peppercorns, white pepper powder, and pink peppercorns. However, each alternative will have different levels of heat and flavor.
- Sweet potato flour: Sweet potato flour is key to giving the pork chops their crispy exterior. It also adds a distinct sweet potato taste to the marinade. Instead of sweet potato flour, you can also use sweet potato starch, potato flour, tapioca flour, rice flour, and arrowroot powder.
- Cooking Oil: Cooking oil is needed when frying the pork chops. You’ll only need to fry the pork chops with a small amount of oil as it is not necessary to deep fry them. In order to reduce oxidation and maintain high temperatures for a longer period of time, I suggest using cooking oil with a high smoke point. Oils with high smoke points are sesame, avocado, sunflower, canola, and peanut. If you prefer to lessen the oil or no oil at all, you can cook the pork chops in an air fryer instead. Cook the pork chops at 400 degrees for 12 to 15 minutes. Make sure to turn the pork chops halfway through the cooking time to cook the other side.
- Salt And Pepper Seasoning: As mentioned, salt and pepper seasoning is a mix of six spices, giving the dish a distinct flavor. The flavors in this salt and pepper mix cannot be found in any other spice, so I recommend making your own or buying it at your local Asian grocery store.
Storage And Reheating Tips For Salt And Pepper Pork Chops
Eating it as soon as possible is the best way to savor the crispness and juiciness. Should you need to store it in the fridge, remember to keep it in an airtight container and consume it within three days after cooking. A sealed container will help maintain its freshness and flavor.
When you are ready to eat it, use an oven, air fryer, or skillet. These kitchen appliances will help bring back its crunchy texture. You can always reheat it with a microwave, but the coating will be soft.
- Oven or air fryer: Reheat the pork chops for 5 to 10 minutes at 350°F to 400°F. Check if the pork chops are hot after 5 minutes. Remember to turn the pork chops to the other side to reheat evenly. If after 5 minutes the pork chops are still not hot, add a few more minutes to reheat.
- Skillet: Heat about 1 tablespoon of oil in the pan and reheat the pork chops. You can also reheat it without oil by toasting it on both sides.
What You Need To Make Salt And Pepper Pork Chops
Use a non-stick pan when frying the pork chops to prevent the outer coating from sticking to the pan. You’ll also need a butcher knife to slice and tenderize the pork. Plus, don’t forget a mixing bowl for the marinade. Here’s what you need for cooking and marinating the pork chops.
Kitchenware
- Non-stick pan
- Spatula or tongs
- Knife
- Chopping board
- Mixing bowl
Ingredients
For The Marinade
- 320g pork chops
- 10g minced garlic
- 1 tsp light soy sauce
- 1 tsp oyster sauce
- 1 tsp black pepper powder
- 2 tsp sweet potato flour
- 1 tbsp water
- 1 tsp oil
For Frying
- Oil (adjust the amount according to the amount of pork for frying)
- 10g or more of salt and pepper seasoning
How To Make Salt And Pepper Pork Chops
In summary, the recipe steps include slicing and tenderizing, marinating, and frying the pork chops. The steps can be done in 30 minutes or less! You can also watch my quick tutorial guide on Instagram and Tiktok for more guidance on how to make salt and pepper pork chops.
Prepare The Pork
Clean the pork thoroughly under running water.
Cut the pork into thin slices, about 1cm thick.
Then, tenderize the pork on both sides by hammering it with a meat hammer or the knife’s spine.
Marinate The Pork
In a bowl, add the pork chops, 10g minced garlic, 1 tsp light soy sauce, 1 tsp oyster sauce, 1 tsp black pepper powder, and 2 tsp sweet potato flour.
Mix the ingredients well and rub the marinade into the pork chops.
Then, add about 1 tbsp water to moisten the marinated meat and mix well.
Next, add 1 tsp oil and evenly combine it with the meat. Marinate for 10 minutes or more.
Stir-Fry The Pork
Prepare a pan with about 5 tbsp oil and heat it up.
Once the oil is hot enough for frying, fry the pork chops on medium-low heat until golden brown.
Flip the pork chops on the other side to cook.
When both sides are cooked, remove the pork chops from the pan and drain the excess oil.
Lastly, sprinkle salt and pepper seasoning and adjust to taste.
Crispy Chinese Salt And Pepper Pork Chops
Equipment
- Non-stick pan
- Spatula or tongs
- Knife
- Chopping board
Ingredients
For The Marinade
- 320 g pork chops
- 10 g minced garlic
- 1 tsp light soy sauce
- 1 tsp oyster sauce
- 1 tsp black pepper powder
- 2 tsp sweet potato flour
- 1 tbsp water
- 1 tsp oil
For Frying
- Oil adjust the amount according to the amount of pork for frying
- 10 g or more of salt and pepper seasoning
Instructions
Prepare The Pork
- Clean the pork thoroughly under running water.
- Cut the pork into thin slices, about 1cm thick.
- Then, tenderize the pork on both sides by hammering it with a meat hammer or the knife's spine.
Marinate The Pork
- In a bowl, add the pork chops, 10g minced garlic, 1 tsp light soy sauce, 1 tsp oyster sauce, 1 tsp black pepper powder, and 2 tsp sweet potato flour.
- Mix the ingredients well and rub the marinade into the pork chops.
- Then, add about 1 tbsp water to moisten the marinated meat and mix well.
- Next, add 1 tsp oil and evenly combine it with the meat.
- Marinate for 10 minutes or more.
Stir-Fry The Pork
- Prepare a pan with about 5 tbsp oil and heat it up.
- Once the oil is hot enough for frying, fry the pork chops on medium-low heat until golden brown.
- Flip the pork chops on the other side to cook.
- When both sides are cooked, remove the pork chops from the pan and drain the excess oil.
- Lastly, sprinkle salt and pepper seasoning and adjust to taste.
