Korean Style Pork Chops. These juicy pork chops are delicious, flavorful, take little cooking time. One of those easy recipes that requires minimal ingredients.
These Korean BBQ pork chops serve well on a bed of rice with Korean side dishes like kimchi.
My Korean fried pork chops are succulent, juicy, tender and delicious! These boneless pork chops are marinated in a Korean BBQ sauce. It will totally satisfy your taste buds. An easy way to make them spicy by adding gochujang to the marinade, which is a Korean chili sauce or paste, which will give it a ton of smoky flavor!
What are Korean Style Pork Chops?
This Korean pork recipe was inspired by the sweet, nutty, and savory flavors from my non-spicy Pork Bulgogi. Find the original recipe here. These thick pork chops are marinated in soy sauce, brown sugar, garlic, green and white onion, sesame oil, sesame seeds and black pepper.
Then they are fried in a large skillet, cast iron pan, or grill pan. For a bit of heat, add Korean hot pepper paste aka Gochujang to the marinade. You'll find this meat pre-marinated and served at Korean restaurants in South Korea for barbecuing over a charcoal grill.
Versatile Marinade
The great thing about this Korean-style marinade is that it's very versatile! You can replace the boneless pork loin chops with pork belly, other cuts of pork, chicken breast or thighs or tofu for a vegetarian version.
Ingredients
You will need the below ingredients for this Korean Pork Chops recipe. Scroll down to recipe card for measurements.
Note: Most Asian grocers will carry these ingredients. You may find them at your select grocery store or online, like on Amazon.
- Pork loin center cuts: Boneless pork loins with a bit of fat running through will make this the best pork chops ever! The fat helps to create moist pork chops.
- In place of boneless pork loin, you may also use pork belly, bone-in pork chops, chicken or tofu for a vegetarian version. If your butcher only has boneless pork tenderloin, ask them to slice it into a thick cut, ½-inch-thick pieces.
- Neutral oil: such as avocado oil, sunflower oil, grapeseed oil, peanut oil, vegetable oil or canola oil. Avoid olive oil as it contains a scent and taste.
Marinade:
- White onion or red onion: White onion is a common aromatic used in bulgogi sauce to add some sharpness.
- Green onion: a very common ingredient used in Korean food across many recipes.
- Garlic: garlic is a must in Korean cooking and especially in this Bulgogi marinade.
- Regular soy sauce: Just your all-purpose soy sauce, not dark soy sauce. If you opt to use light soy sauce or low-sodium soy sauce, please add to taste as light soy sauce is much saltier.
- Brown sugar: This makes the marinade sweet. Feel free to substitute with 4 tablespoon honey.
- Sesame oil: A few teaspoons of this nutty oil will take this dish to the next level. It is the signature oil in Korean cuisine.
- Sesame seeds, toasted: These also offer a nutty flavor to the dish and will also be used as a garnish.
- Black pepper: a little bit of black pepper helps to round out the sweet flavors!
- Optional: Gochujang for a little heat. This is a sweet smoky hot pepper paste is made of red chili peppers. You can buy this at most Korean grocers.
Equipment:
- large non-stick pan or cast iron pan or grill pan.
- instant-read thermometer
- mixing bowl
- tongs
How to Make Korean Style Pork Chops
In a large bowl, add pork loin center cuts along with marinade ingredients.
Mix well with clean hands or tongs. Cover with a lid or plastic wrap. Marinate for at least 30 minutes or overnight.
In a large non stick skillet on medium heat, add neutral oil. Once hot, place pork chops along with remaining marinade. Do not overcrowd the pan and fry in two batches, if needed.
Fry on each side for 2-3 minutes until an internal temperature of 140 F on a meat thermometer. Remove pork from pan and transfer to a cutting board. Let the residual heat cook it to 145 F or until juices run clear.
Cut into large chunks for serving or serve each thick chop per serving.
Garnish with more green onions and enjoy with rice and kimchi!
Storage
Store these pork chops in an airtight container in the fridge. They will last up to 3-4 days.
FAQ
Why are my Korean style pork chops are dry?
Pork loins are a VERY tricky meat to cook. The cook time can range depending on your heat setting. That's why I recommend using an instant read thermometer and cooking pork chops until 140 F.
Then remove the chops from the hot pan and let them rest for 10 minutes covered in tin foil to keep warm. The residual heat will cook them to a safe temperature for consuming of 145 F.
The total time to cook should range between 2-3 minutes per side on medium heat. If you cook on medium-high heat, then please reduce the cooking time. The first side will also take longer to cook as the pan is not as hot. But the other side will cook more quickly since the pan is hotter.
Instant cooking thermometers are fairly inexpensive and serve as a fantastic kitchen tool that you will use a lot!
How can I make this spicy?
Add Gochujang, which is a delicious sweet smoky Korean hot pepper paste. It's made of red chilies, rice flour, soybean powder, sea salt, rice syrup, and barley malt powder. You can purchase this ingredient at most Korean grocers or even online, like on Amazon. It's a very common ingredient used in Korean cuisine to make food spicy and smoky tasting. It's very different from sriracha sauce or a chili garlic sauce.
Can I bake Korean style pork chops in the oven?
Yes, place them on a large baking tray lined with parchment paper or brushed with oil. Bake at 400 F for 13-17 minutes for a ½-inch-thick pork loins until an internal temperature of 140 F. Remove from oven. Let the residual heat cook it to 145 F.
Other Korean Recipes you may like!
If you enjoyed my Korean style pork chops, you may enjoy these other recipes:
- Jeyuk Bokkeum (Korean Spicy Pork)
- Dak Galbi
- Bulgogi (Korean BBQ Beef)
- Korean Fried Chicken
- Air Fryer Korean Fried Chicken
- Korean Bulgogi Chicken Wings
- Korean Tuna Pancakes (Chamchijeon)
Easy Korean Style Pork Chops
Ingredients
- 1.30 lb Pork loins boneless center cuts
- 1 tablespoon Avocado oil or any neutral oil
Marinade:
- ⅓ cup White onion or red onion, julienned
- 1 Green onion sliced into 1 inch long pcs
- 3 cloves Garlic
- ⅓ cup Regular soy sauce
- ⅓ cup Brown sugar or honey
- 2 tablespoon Sesame oil toasted
- 1 teaspoon Sesame seeds toasted
- ¼ teaspoon Black pepper
For Spicy Version
- 1 tablespoon Gochujang
Garnish
- 1 Green onion finely chopped
- ½ teaspoon Sesame seeds toasted
Instructions
- If needed, tenderize your pork chops using the back of the knife in a diagonal manner on both sides.
- In a large bowl, add pork loin center cuts along with marinade ingredients. Mix well with clean hands or tongs. Cover with a lid or plastic wrap. Marinate for at least 20 minutes or overnight.
- In a large non stick skillet on medium heat, add neutral oil. Once hot, place pork chops along with remaining marinade. Do not overcrowd the pan and fry in two batches, if needed.
- Fry on each side for 2-3 minutes until an internal temperature of 140 F on a meat thermometer. Remove pork from pan and transfer to cutting board. Let the residual heat cook it to 145 F or until juices run clear.
- Cut into large chunks for serving or serve one chop per serving.
- Garnish with more green onions and enjoy with rice and kimchi!
Notes
Storage
Store these pork chops in an airtight container in the fridge. They will last up to 3-4 days.FAQ
Why are my pork chops dry?Pork loins are a VERY tricky meat to cook. The cook time can range depending on your heat setting. That's why I recommend using an instant read thermometer (they're fairly inexpensive and serve as a fantastic kitchen tool that you will use a lot!) and cooking pork chops until 140 F. Then remove the chops from the hot pan and let them rest for 10 minutes covered in tin foil to keep warm. The residual heat will cook them to a safe temperature for consuming of 145 F. The total time to cook should range between 2-3 minutes per side on medium heat. If you cook on medium-high heat, then please reduce the cooking time. The first side will also take longer to cook as the pan is not as hot. But the other side will cook more quickly since the pan is hotter.
B.
Did you use a meat tenderizer or make small slices to tenderize the chops?
christieathome
These pork chops came tenderized so feel free to use the back of your knife to tenderize them in a diagonal fashion.