Pork Chops

Is it possible to cook a quick and dirty meal that tastes great and yet is super cheap? The answer is yes, though eating it everyday will probably take a few years off your life.  Pork chops - described by Gordon Ramsay as easy to cook and will send your confidence sky high - can be cooked in minutes and is oh-so-tender and juicy :)

My maiden attempt is Sweet and Sour Pork Chops, based on Gordon Ramsay's Ultimate Cookery Course which, i must say again, is really great for newbies.  Unfortunately, certain ingredients like basil and thyme are harder to find in your NTUC supermarket so i actually skipped the basil and bought a bottle of thyme instead of a getting a fresh sprig.  I guess it could have tasted more awesome-er but overall i was still pretty satisfied with the end product.

What You Will Need
2 pork chops
2 capsicum (referred to by GR as red peppers)
Cooking Oil
1 onion
2 cloves of garlic
1 tbsp sugar
3 tbsp wine vinegar
Salt & ground black pepper
Thyme



Getting Ready

• Slice off the stalk of the capsicum and position the vegetable upside down. Make sure that it is stable, to facilitate the next step
• Using your knife, start with the blade from the centre of the bottom and follow the contour of the capsicum, until you reach the bottom.  this is really easy as the veg is kind of hollow inside, so you cant really go wrong.  repeat for the other sides until you have shaved off the meaty parts, discarding the core and the seeds
• Slice thinly, using the basic principles of chopping
• Slice the onion too.  No need to dice. rather it is preferable to keep the slices about the same size as your sliced capsicum, so that both will cook evenly later on
• Now is a good time to prepare the pork, so that it can marinate for a while when cooking the capsicum - wash and pat dry. 
• Using the knife again, make cuts into the fat of the pork along about every 5 cm of its circumference.  this will prevent the meat from curling during cooking, and help keep the meat flat on the pan later on.  be careful not to cut into the meat, as this will allow the juices insdie to escape
• Season both sides with salt and pepper.  i was really generous with the pepper, mainly because i wanted maximum taste but was afraid to put too much salt.

Time to cook!

• Drizzle the frying pan with oil.  To save time, it is a good idea to heat up the frying pan while doing the prep work above
• Add in the capsicum and onion, seasoning with salt and pepper.
• Add in the sugar and cook over high heat for about 4-5 minutes.  this is known as sautee-ing.  the sugar helps break down the onions and capsicum and of course adds the "sweet" portion of the "sweet and sour".  Make sure that you can hear the vegetables hissing, as this means that you are frying them.  If there is no hissing, you may be boiling them instead.
• Add in wine vinegar.  This provides acidity, or more plainly, the sour taste.  the alcohol does make the whole dish more aromatic, in my opinion
• For an added dimension, roll up the basil leaves and chop before adding them in
• To complete the vinaigrette, add some extra virgin olive oil and plate.  the residual heat will cook the basil and bring out its flavour

• Now for the pork chops - wipe clean the frying pan and add in the oil
• Place the pork chops into the pan, placing them away from you. this is so that if any oil splatters, it goes in the other direction
• Lightly crush the garlic to expose the insides.  Add in the garlic, with the skin still on.  Thyme goes in as well
• Turn over the pork chops after about a minute
• Add in the butter and tilt the pan.  using a spoon, bathe the top of the chop in the excess butter.  this is known as baste-ting and keeps the chop moist while helping it to cook quicker
• After about 3-4 minutes on each side, the chops are ready and should be smelling great.  Of course, if you have a smaller chop, you would require less time for it to cook.  for a healthier version, go easy on the butter
• As is important with all meats, let it rest!

The Verdict

I think i slightly overcooked it the first time and the pork chop was a little tough. Nonetheless it was pretty tasty.  I must say that the capsicums were wonderful.  Really juicy and crunchy, i never really liked them in yong tau fu but here they were really great.

Ms S commented that the chops looked oily, which i must agree.  So for my second attempt, i used less butter and rested the chop on paper towels to soak in the excess oil.  I think i managed the time abit better too so it was really moist and tender.  although i did this on a weekday after a tiring day of work, the sense of satisfaction is well worth it!  it also does show that its not too much work and is really simple to cook ;)

Prep time:8 Minutes.  Cooking Time: 8 Minutes.  Price: $3 for two pork chops. $2 for 2 capsicums