Tender, juicy, flavorful—Korean Style Pork Chops

A mix of marinade seasonings delivers big flavor and tender, juicy chops. Recipe below.

PORK CHOPS ARE GREAT AT ABSORBING FLAVORS, especially with a marinade. This recipe uses a mix of flavorings—fresh ginger, garlic, soy sauce, honey, gochujang (fermented red pepper paste), sesame oil and soy sauce—to create savory, slightly sweet, slightly spicy pork chops that are juicy and tender.

The dish is somewhat generically called Korean Style Pork Chops, that name being driven largely by the gochujang, a Korean kitchen staple. It’s a fermented pepper paste described alternately as delivering spicy-sweet umami or funky-spicy-sweet. It is so fundamental to Korean cuisine that it has its own annual festival in Gochujang Village.

You can use boneless or bone-in pork chops. Finding chops about an inch thick is ideal for fast, even cooking. If your chops are substantially thicker, start them on the stovetop and finish them in a 400ºF oven for 5 or 10 minutes to cook them through without overcooking the outsides.

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Korean Style Pork Chops

A mix of marinade seasonings delivers big flavor and tender, juicy chops.

Course Main Course

Cuisine Korean-inspired

Servings 4

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup reduced-sodium soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon ginger, minced (see Kitchen Notes)
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 2 teaspoons gochujang (Korean fermented pepper paste—you can also use sriracha)
• 4 pork chops (see Kitchen Notes)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Instructions

• Marinate the chops. Whisk together soy sauce, honey, garlic, ginger, sesame oil and gochujang in a medium-sized bowl. Put chops in a single layer in a non-reactive dish (we used a glass pie plate) and pour the marinade over the chops. Let marinate for at least 20 minutes on the counter. Even better, marinate the chops overnight in the fridge, covered. This will greatly enhance the flavor and tenderness of the finished chops. If you do fridge them, bring them out of the fridge about 30 minutes before you’re ready to cook to let them come to room temperature.
• Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add pork chops, without marinade, and cook for about 4 minutes on the first side, to get a nice brownish color. Turn the pork chops and pour the marinade over them.
• Cook another 4 minutes or so on this side. An instant read thermometer should read at least 145ºF when inserted in the center of the chop. If not, reduce the heat, cover the pan and let it cook another few minutes until the chops are cooked through.
• Season with black pepper and serve.

Kitchen Notes

Ginger, fresh or in a tube (or jar)? Fresh ginger has a real knack for going bad before we use it, so we’re big fans of fresh ginger in a tube or squeeze bottle, already very finely chopped. We recently discovered chopped ginger in a jar from Christopher’s Ranch, chopped finely enough to be considered minced. All three kinds are great for this recipe.

Choosing your chops. You can use boneless chops as we did. You can also use bone-in chops. Try to find chops about an inch thick. If you have thinner chops, you can cook them for a shorter time. If your chops are substantially thicker, start them on the stovetop and finish them in a 400ºF oven for 5 or 10 minutes to cook them through without overcooking the outsides.