Taiwanese Fried Pork Chop

April 9, 2021 by Mandy

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Yield: 3 servings
Prep time: 30 minutes
Cook time: 15 minutes
Total time: 45 minutes

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This crunchy fried pork chop recipe is inspired by the famous XXL fried chicken sold at Taiwanese night markets and many boba tea shops. Sweet potato starch is often the preferred coating as it has a crunchy and chewy texture after frying. In this recipe I used tapioca starch, as it seems to be a lot easier to source and the result is just as crunchy and satisfying. After pairing the crispy pork chop with Taiwanese minced pork rice and passionfruit aiyu jelly drink, I felt like I was in my own boba tea shop.

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Ingredients

Pork Chop

• 6 sliced pork chops (¹/₄" thick, patted dry)
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 2 tbsp cooking wine
• 1 tsp of five spice powder
• 1 cup of tapioca starch (aka tapioca flour)
• Olive oil for shallow frying

For Serving

• Minced pork rice (optional)
• You can refer to the Taiwanese Braised Pork Belly Recipe here. I replaced the pork belly with ground pork and reduced the cooking time by half.

Directions

1. Make small relief cuts (~ 1") to the sides of the pork chop so that it lays flat when frying.
2. Lay the pork chops in between 2 pieces of parchment paper and pound.
3. Marinate the pork chop with 2 tbsp soy sauce, 2 tbsp cooking wine, 1 tsp of five spice powder for at least 20 minutes.
4. Coat the pork chops in tapioca starch and dust off the excess.
5. Heat up a small amount of oil enough to cover the base of a medium sized fry pan.
6. Carefully add the coated pork chops. You can fry them in batches to avoid crowding the pan.
7. Fry the pork chops until they are golden brown, about 3-4 minutes on each side.