4, Mar 2013
Grilled Lemongrass Pork

This is based on the lemongrass pork chop recipe in Charles Phan’s Vietnamese Home Cooking. I haven’t tried it with bone-in chops but it is amazing with pork shoulder. The fat really crisps up well and it acquires an amazing glaze from the sugar. Good with a salad, in banh mi, or just eaten straight off the grill with fingers.

Ingredients

2 lb pork country ribs (shoulder), sliced about 1″ thick
3/4 c white sugar
1/4 c fish sauce
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
1 small shallot, minced
1 lemongrass stalk, finely chopped
1 chile, stemmed and finely choppe
black pepper

Directions

Whisk together the sugar, fish sauce, garlic, shallot, lemongrass, and black pepper until the sugar dissolves. Marinate the pork for a couple of hours at room temperature or overnight in the refrigerator. Heat the grill, keeping one side extra hot and the other cooler. Oil the grate and add the pork directly from the marinade to the hot side of the grill. Sear on one side for 1-2 minutes. Flip and sear on the other side. Move to the cooler side of the grill, cover, and cook until done. Serve with absolutely anything.