Pork Chops with Green Beans and Garlic Fried Rice
Weekday nights warrant quick dinners after long work days. Growing up, my dad always made these badass pork chops with green beans and a garlic fried rice. We redid this the other day together, and it brought back so much nostalgia! This recipe yields 4 portions, hope you enjoy it as much as we do.
Ingredients:
2 cups peanut, canola, or corn oil
2 tbsp olive oil
2 cups rice, cooked
8 oz green beans, ends cut off
2 lbs pork chops
Thickness is up to you, I wouldn’t recommend thicker than 1/2 inch though, just so that you can get a good fry and ensure the pork chop is cooked all the way through. Boneless or bone-in is a personal preference too. We’ve done both!
10 cloves of garlic, minced
1 cup fish sauce
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp sugar
Black pepper
Instructions:
Cook 2 cups of rice, set aside. I always add a little more water when I cook rice because I prefer fluffier/wet rice over dry. Day-old rice is optimal for fried rice and is easy to make the night before. If using day-old rice, remember to take it out of the fridge 1-2 hours prior to cooking, so it gets closer to room temperature
In a bowl, whisk the fish sauce, soy sauce, minced garlic, sugar, and a generous amount of black pepper
Use 1/2 of the marinade for the pork chops the night before if you can, otherwise marinate for at least 30-60 minutes before frying to soak up as much flavor as possible
In a large pan over medium-high heat and 1 tablespoon of olive oil, use the remaining marinade to saute the green beans. After 5 minutes of browning, add 1/2 cup of water and turn the heat down to medium. Green beans can be tough, so adding the water and allowing extra cooking time over lower heat will soften the green beans more. Saute for an additional 8-10 minutes until most of the water has evaporated
Transfer green beans to a serving bowl and rinse out your pan. Get it back on the stove over medium-high heat
Since these are FRIED pork chops, you need a lot of oil that offers a high smoke point. I recommend either peanut, vegetable, or corn oil since they all offer a 400-450 degree smoke point! Add enough peanut or vegetable oil to coat the entire bottom of the pan, at least 1-2 cups depending on how wide of a pan you are using
Allow the oil a few minutes to get really hot and gently place your marinated pork chops into the pan, one at a time. Make sure to save that marinade!
Fry your pork chops for 2-3 minutes each side, depending on how thin your pork chops are. The internal temperature for pork chops is 145. They can be a very light pink in the center, but not beyond that, lets not get sick over undercooked pork chops y’all
As you fry your pork chops, fish out the minced garlic that’s floating around from the marinade, which should have become a dark brown color, and set aside
Transfer the pork chops to a serving dish as they finish cooking, top the pork chops with 1/2 of the garlic bits
Once all pork chops are done, remove 3/4 of the oil and put the pan back on the stove over medium heat
Add your leftover marinade and stir for about 2 minutes
Add in your rice
Turn the meat up to medium-high and stir occasionally for 5-7 minutes until the rice is hot and glistening. Remove from heat and transfer to a serving bowl
We like to plate each item in a big bowl or plate so that folks can decide on their own ratios between the rice, pork chops, and green beans. Hope this savory dish packs the right amount of flavor and happy for you and your family!
