Vietnamese-Inspired Pork Chops

I, first, made this recipe for a friend's birthday party...about three years ago. And I have never posted the recipe despite having made this almost a handful of times since then. So, it's about darn time it hit the blog, right? It's a new year's resolution of mine to clean up my drafts folder.

Ingredients serves 8

• 3 small shallots, peeled and finely chopped
• 1/2 C organic dark brown sugar, lightly packed
• 1/2 C fish sauce 
• 3 to 4 T unseasoned rice vinegar
• 1 t freshly ground black pepper
• six  1"thick-cut bone-in pork chops (about 3 1/2 to 4 pounds total)
• 1 T oil
• salt, as needed*
• 1 organic onion, peeled and thickly sliced
• organic lime wedges, for serving
• Also needed: cast iron skillet

*Go easy on the salt when seasoning these chops; the marinade is fairly salty, especially after it reduces.

Procedure

In a small mixing bowl, whisk together shallots, brown sugar, fish sauce, vinegar, and pepper. Place pork chops in rimmed dish. Using a fork, pierce pork chops all over on both sides. Pour marinade over the chops. Turn to coat. Cover and let pork chops marinate at room temperature, turning occasionally for approximately 20 minutes.

Remove pork chops from marinade and place onions in the marinade while the pan heats. Heat oil in a large skillet (I love using a cast iron pan) over medium-high heat. Add onions to the pan and cook until translucent and beginning to caramelize. Remove from the pan and set aside.

Place pork chops in the same pan and cook until browned approximately 5 minutes per side. Remove the pork from the pan and let rest.

Pour the marinade into the pan and bring to a boil. Simmer to reduce the liquid by about a half. Mine took about 3 minutes. Stir in the caramelized onions.

Serve pork chops with the reduced marinade and lime wedges on the side.

I have also tried this process with lamb chops and a New York steak. Both were delicious, as well. I love when recipes are easily applied to different cuts of meat. This is one of those.