Salt and Pepper Pork Chops

Name: Salt and Pepper Pork Chops
Total time: 1 h 45 min
Yield: Serves 3–4
Cuisine: Chinese
Ingredients: 700 g bone-in pork chops, butterflied to 1 cm thickness (or boneless loin at 2 cm, the milder clock); 1 tbsp (15 ml) Shaoxing wine, ½ tsp (2 g) salt, ¼ tsp (1 g) white pepper, 1 tsp (5 g) sugar — the marinade's whisper; 1 egg white — the crust's own binder; 100 g cornstarch, 50 g plain flour, ½ tsp (2 g) baking powder; 1 tsp (5 g) salt, 1 tsp (3 g) white pepper, ¼ tsp (1 g) five-spice — the dredge's seasoning; 1½ tbsp (25 ml) neutral oil; 4 cloves garlic, minced fine; 2 red chillies, minced (or 1 tsp dried flakes); 1 tsp (5 g) salt, 1½ tsp (4 g) white pepper, freshest grind; 2 spring onions, sliced; the coriander's handful, optional; 1 litre neutral oil, at the 180 °C working heat

Chinese · Medium · Serves 3–4

The salt-and-pepper canon's heartiest member and the bone-in chop's own crispest argument: pork chops marinated in the savoury whisper, fried to the shattering crust at the deep oil, and tossed through the garlic, chilli and pepper's fine scatter — the same doctrine that runs the family's shrimp (#11's B-tier master), tofu and squid (#71's record) at the chop's substantial register. The technique is the chop's butterflying marinade and the double-fry's returning crisp, the bone-in's juicest argument at the family's loudest crunch.

Quantities live in the recipe card.

The chops

the marinade's whisper
the crust's own binder

The crust

the dredge's seasoning

The salt-and-pepper toss

The fry

- The chop's butterflying and its hour: the bone-in chop sliced through its thickness to the butterfly's open leaf (the 1 cm's even plane — the chop's thick centre and thin rim the raw-and-burnt's own argument unbutchered), massaged through the marinade and the egg white, and rested 1 hour at the fridge — the marinade's whisper the chop's own seasoning, the egg white the crust's binder at the dredge. - The dredge's order and the fry's discipline: the seasoned starch's mix shaken in the bag, the chops dredged at the last moment (the wet-ahead dredge the pasted crust's own cause), and the oil at the 180 °C working heat before the first chop enters.

Step 1. The first fry — 4 minutes to the golden set. The dredged chops lowered two at a time (the oil's space the crust's own room), and fried 4 minutes to the even light gold — the crust's first set and the chop's cooked-through at the bone's edge — lifted to the paper. Checkpoint — the first-fried crust is the pale, dry gold (the colour's full argument one fry away) and the chop's thickest point runs just-cooked at the knife's tip — the double-fry's first stage the moisture's own seal.

Step 2. The second fry — 90 seconds at the fiercer oil. The oil's heat raised to 190 °C, and every chop returned at once — the 90-second fury to the deep shattering gold, the crust's blistering crunch forced at the oil's highest argument, the chops lifted to the fresh paper. Checkpoint — the second-fried crust's tap runs hollow-hard at the fingernail's flick and the blisters' fine gold speckle the crust's own architecture — the double-fry's returning crisp the family's shared law, and the single fry's pale leather this stage's refused alternative.

Step 3. The toss and the service. The wok's oil at the flame, the garlic and chilli's 20-second perfume (never the colour), the salt and pepper's mix through — the chops back for the two-toss coat in the fragrant scatter, the spring onion's fold, and the platter's immediate service. Checkpoint — the eating test: the crust's shatter giving to the chop's juicy, well-seasoned interior (the bone-in's own dividend at the juiciest bite), the garlic-and-pepper's scatter at the fingers and the lips — the family's loudest crunch at the canon's heartiest register. Chef’s Note — the chop's butterflying is this record's own distinction in the family: the bone-in chop's uneven thickness — the eye's thick centre, the rib's thin taper — fries to the raw-and-burnt's argument at the single plane's discipline refused, and the butterfly's opened leaf runs the even 1 cm the fry's four minutes honestly cooks. The restaurant's boneless version cuts the even 2 cm finger; the bone-in's butterfly keeps the chop's juiciest argument at the same discipline — the bone's own insulation the meat's finest insurance.

Doneness & Quality Checkpoints

The chop: the butterfly's even centimetre, the marinade's hour, the egg-white binder.
The fries: the 4-minute golden set, the 90-second shatter, the hollow-hard tap.
The toss: the garlic's 20 seconds, the pepper's freshest grind, the platter's minute.

Finish & Plate

The chops stacked to the platter with the scatter's cling, the fingers' and the bone's own engagement the service's argument — the beer's cold or the tea's plain at the side, the family's doctrine at the canon's heartiest seat.

Salt and Pepper Pork Chops

Prep: 30 minutes, plus 1 hour marinating · Cook: 15 minutes · Total: About 1 hour 45 minutes · Serves 3–4

Ingredients

The chops

700 g bone-in pork chops, butterflied to 1 cm thickness (or boneless loin at 2 cm, the milder clock)
1 tbsp (15 ml) Shaoxing wine, ½ tsp (2 g) salt, ¼ tsp (1 g) white pepper, 1 tsp (5 g) sugar — the marinade's whisper
1 egg white — the crust's own binder

The crust

100 g cornstarch, 50 g plain flour, ½ tsp (2 g) baking powder
1 tsp (5 g) salt, 1 tsp (3 g) white pepper, ¼ tsp (1 g) five-spice — the dredge's seasoning

The salt-and-pepper toss

1½ tbsp (25 ml) neutral oil
4 cloves garlic, minced fine; 2 red chillies, minced (or 1 tsp dried flakes)
1 tsp (5 g) salt, 1½ tsp (4 g) white pepper, freshest grind
2 spring onions, sliced; the coriander's handful, optional

The fry

1 litre neutral oil, at the 180 °C working heat

Instructions

The first fry — 4 minutes to the golden set. The dredged chops lowered two at a time (the oil's space the crust's own room), and fried 4 minutes to the even light gold — the crust's first set and the chop's cooked-through at the bone's edge — lifted to the paper. Checkpoint — the first-fried crust is the pale, dry gold (the colour's full argument one fry away) and the chop's thickest point runs just-cooked at the knife's tip — the double-fry's first stage the moisture's own seal.
The second fry — 90 seconds at the fiercer oil. The oil's heat raised to 190 °C, and every chop returned at once — the 90-second fury to the deep shattering gold, the crust's blistering crunch forced at the oil's highest argument, the chops lifted to the fresh paper. Checkpoint — the second-fried crust's tap runs hollow-hard at the fingernail's flick and the blisters' fine gold speckle the crust's own architecture — the double-fry's returning crisp the family's shared law, and the single fry's pale leather this stage's refused alternative.
The toss and the service. The wok's oil at the flame, the garlic and chilli's 20-second perfume (never the colour), the salt and pepper's mix through — the chops back for the two-toss coat in the fragrant scatter, the spring onion's fold, and the platter's immediate service. Checkpoint — the eating test: the crust's shatter giving to the chop's juicy, well-seasoned interior (the bone-in's own dividend at the juiciest bite), the garlic-and-pepper's scatter at the fingers and the lips — the family's loudest crunch at the canon's heartiest register.

Troubleshooting

Symptom	Cause	Fix
Crust soft by the platter	The single fry, or the crowd's steam	The double fry's returning fury; two chops at a time
Chop raw at the bone's eye	The unbutchered thickness	The butterfly's even centimetre
Garlic's scatter bitter	The mince's colour turned	The 20-second perfume, the heat's mercy

Storage, Make-Ahead & Variations

- The chops serve the fry's moment — the shatter's argument is same-minute; the re-fry at 190 °C for 60 seconds the leftover's honest second crunch, the microwave refused. The marinated, dredged chops hold half a day refrigerated for the fry's on-demand speed. - The family's canon runs the shrimp's master (#11), the tofu's and squid's C-tier records (#24, #71), and the chop's substantial seat here — the same doctrine's four registers. The chilli's proportion and the five-spice's whisper in the dredge are the table's own dials; the ribs' version (the chop's sawn fingers) runs the identical double fry. - The canon's seat: the salt-and-pepper family's hearty master — the butterfly's even plane and the double fry's shatter — at the Cantonese fryer's own first rank.