Hi, I'm Jennifer
In this video, I'm going to start a new series
"Chinese Flavors"
We'll start with one of my favorite flavors
braised with soy sauce
using pork chop as the 1st dish
A good soy sauce braised pork chop
need to be tender and flavor should penetrate
First let's see which cut is the best
All chops are from the Loin
The front section is Rib Eye
This cut doesnt' see a lot of exercise
So it has fat and is usually more tender
The middel section is T-Bone
On 1 side is the extension of the Rib Eye
but it's smaller than the T-Bone section
The other side is Tenderloin
It's the leanest and most tender used in stir fry
So T-Bone is the best for pork chops
The back section is Sirloin
It's more chewy a less desirable cut
I used a deboned T-Bone for this video
It's surrouneded by a white film
and you need to cut a few openings to prevent
it from curling up during cooking
especially the section in the middle
To make a good pork chop [Tenderness] & [Flavor] are 2 key success factors
[Tenderness Tip #1] Tenderizing the meat
Best to use a meat cleaver and pound in 90 degrees
giving more attention against the grain
this is most effective in "cutting" the muscle strands
to achieve the most tenderness
when you are done, the thickness should be about 1/4"
thicker cuts will require longer cooking/marinade and may be less tender
you can also tenderize using a tenderizing hammer
it's easier but won't "cut" the grain as well
the chop may turn out to be more "mushy"
[Flavor Tip #1] Marinade
Mix evenly by kneading with your hands
until all the sauces are abosrbed
lay it out flat and cover
then put in the refrigerator
refrigeration will help reduce bacteria growth
How best to marinade? and for how long?
let's do 7 experiments to illustrate
Method #2: Wet method (add water)
same as before (Method #1)
at the end, add water (ideally ginger water)
Ginger water = water soaked with ginger ~15min
it will add more flavor
add in 30g of water in batches
mix evenly each time until water is absorbed
fresher cuts will absorb more water
Seal and refrigerate
In Method #1 (no water), I'll marinade for 24 hour
Method #2 (with water), also 24 hours
Method #3 (no water), 8-10 hours
Method #4 (with water), 8-10 hours
Method #5 (no water), 1-2 hours
Method #6 (with water), 1-2 hours
Method #7 (lazy method), no tenderizing & no water
for 1-2 hours
Which of the 7 will turn out the best? Take a guess :)
wait until the end of the video to find out
Now let's prepare the sauce & other flavors
Stargin with green onion
which is must have in Shanghai style pork chops
and you can't go wrong with a lot of green onion
wash clean and let it dry a bit
separate leaf and stem as they cook differently
Best to slice the stock in 1/2 for more event cooking
Turn heat to low in a pot or pan
We'll grill the stem until water mostly evaporates
(when it doesn't sizzle as much) then add oil
Rough 3x the weight of green onion
This oil is much more flavorful than sesame oil
and a must have in many shanghai dishes
Cook until it is light golden. Careful not to blacken
or it will taste bitter. Remove small pieces earlier
so it doesn't blacken and ruin the oil
When you are done, it should be crispy with a mouth watering aroma
Now let's cook the leaf in batches
This will be braised with the pork chop
So it's enough to cook about 30 seconds
Then cook the oil until it stops bubbling (sizzle) as much
this is when water has evaporated
The crispy stem can be eaten as condiment or sprinkled on any food for flavor
The leaf we'll use in braising
The oil can be used in place of sesame oil for a various dishes
[Tenderness Tip #2] Coating the Pork Chop
to seal in the moisture when cooked
best to use wheat starch (grain starch)
but can also use other types of starch
Beat 1 egg ... we'll use it to creat a double coat
it's important to spread the coating evenly
so use a larger container
and you'll need a thick enough coat
to hold in the moisture
why we use egg to create a double coat
[Tenderness Tip #3]: Cooking Temperature
You'll need a pan heated to medium then add oil
too hot and it will blacken and making it tough
too cold and the coating will fall off
After pan frying (harden the coating to seal in moisture)
we'll need to braise for flavor
add in green onion leaves when wok is medium hot
then add in the pork chop
add 15g of Dark Soy Sauce
Dark Soy Sauce is richer in flavor and less salty
add in 3g of cooking wine (I used rice wine)
cook for 1 minute
You can adjust the amount of sugar & salt
based on your preferences
flip and cook for another minute then taste the sauce
add more flavor as needed
[Flavor Tip #3] Adding starch
Starch helps the sauce to stick to the pork chop
so when you bite, you get more flavor
turn heat to small
dissolve the starch in 3x amount of water 1st
then add 1 teaspoon into the sauce
that's enough to make the sauce stickier
but not too much so you are left with little sauce
to use on the rice or noodles (must have companions)
Before finishing, add a drizzle of green onion oil
while I was making this I got super hungry
so made myself porck chop + green onion oil noodles
Okay .. what about the other 6 methods of marinade?
first make a large batch of sauce
that can be use for this dish and others
add in sugar (6x portion) to the pot I used for green onion oil
add in 10x water (of sugar)
after boiling add in dark soy sauce (20% of sugar)
After boiling add in wine
boil again and turn off heat
... fast forward through 6 batches of pork chop ....
using same cooking method, length of time
The chops goes well over rice ... be sure to pile on the sauce & crispy green oinons
*drum roll* which method gives the best pork chop?
24 hours: Left=no water, Right=water
8 hours: Left = no water, Right = water
1 hour no water
1 hour with water
Cleary with water (right) shrunk less and held more liquid
#7 (lazy method) as expected turned out the driest
The conclusion
my summary is
adding water definitively helped moisture
for this thickness of pork chop
1-2 hour is sufficient for tenderizing and flavor
If you want maximum flavor, 24 hour method
is best with most flavor penetration
and slightly more tenderness
at 8 hours, there isn't much difference from 1-2 hours
the worst is the lazy method. Clearly driest
and lacking in flavor
Summry [Tenderness Tips]
#1 Tenderize with back of cleaver against the grain
#2 Sufficien coating (double layer)
#3 Medium heat (don't over heat)
#4 Add water in marinade
Summary [Flavor Tips]
#1 Making the marinade
#2: Marinade for 1-2 hours+ (to tenderize & flavor penetration)
#3: Add starch water at the end (thicken sauce)
Finally how does marinade science work?
Adding salt to meat creates a brining process
salt first draws out the liquid in the meat
and dissolves into a brine solution
it then gets reabsorbed deep into the meat
Just soaking the meat in liquid will not penetrate deep
This process also helps break down lean muscle proteins
making it more tender and carry more flavor into the meat
roughly 1 hour is when the penetration process is complete
So the meat can be moist and also have
the marinade abosrbed deep