Pork Chop Sandwich

• 2 pork chops (approx. 200-250g each)
• 2 crusty rolls of your choice
• 4 leaves of lettuce - baby gem or iceberg recommended for a good crunch
• Japanese mayonnaise

The Marinade

• ½ teaspoon sugar
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon white pepper
• 1 clove garlic, finely chopped
• Pinch of five spice
• 1 tablespoon Shao Xing rice wine
• 1 tablespoon light soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons corn flour

1. Using a sharp cleaver, slice into the edges of each pork chop 3-4 times, creating slits all the way through to help keep the meat flat when cooked. Then, turn your cleaver upside down and using the blunt end of your knife, bash across the meat as many times as possible to flatten it out, making rivets along the pork. This will begin to tenderise the chop and allow the marinade to sit into the meat well.

2. Once flattened to a similar thickness to an escalope, remove your pork chops into a large mixing bowl. Except for the corn flour, add all of ‘The Marinade’ ingredients to the bowl and massage well into the pork chops until the meat is completely coated with the seasoning.

3. Spoon in the two tablespoons of cornflour and massage the pork once more, continuing until the marinade achieves a creamy texture and fully wraps around the pork pieces. Ideally leave the pork in the fridge overnight to marinade, but if you’re really short of time, even 10 minutes will do.

4. Slice the crusty rolls in half, ready for the fried pork chop. Make sure your lettuce is washed and patted dry so it maintains its crunch, then leave both the rolls and lettuce to one side.

5. Traditionally in Hong Kong, the pork chops are deep fried to order. If deep-frying, half-fill a wok or deep-fryer with vegetable oil and heat to 180°C (350°F). Test the temperature of your oil by placing the tip of a wooden skewer or wooden chopstick into the oil: if the wood starts to fizz after a second or so, the oil is at roughly 180°C and you’re ready to fry! Once the oil is ready, over a high heat, carefully lay both chops into the oil. Quickly sear the meat, then reduce to medium heat and leave the pork to deep fry for 5 minutes, or until golden brown, turning once. To get an extra crispy finish, increase to a high heat for the final thirty seconds, before removing the pork from the wok and placing it on a few sheets of kitchen roll to drain off any excess oil.

6. (Hint: You can also shallow fry the pork chops. If shallow frying, fill a large frying pan with roughly ½ cm oil, bring to a medium-high heat, and then place the pork chops into the frying pan one-by-one. Fry for 2-3 minutes on each side until golden brown all the way around the meat, then place on a few sheets of kitchen oil to drain off any excess oil.)

7. Once the chops are fried, place them directly into the crusty roll followed by your choice of salad (ours is crunchy lettuce!). Squeeze a dollop of Japanese mayonnaise over the top, cover the roll with the crusty top and serve.

Enjoy!