Asian Marinated Pork Chops

Courtesy of Melissa D'Arabian - Food Network

I saw this on the Food Network this week and it looked delicious. I really enjoy making pork chops since they are so lean, and the marinade for this just looked full of flavor. I also had all of the ingredients - score! I will say that I marinated my chops much longer (16 hours). This was due to the fact that it was gorgeous out yesterday and I just had to get out and about, which interfered with my cooking :) I ended up making these for lunch today instead, and they were still delicious! You need to watch out for the acidic marinades "cooking" really thin pork chops or making them tough, but mine ended up just fine! I think this would also be good on chicken.

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup plus 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
• 1 tablespoon minced ginger
• 1 tablespoon Sriracha
• 2 teaspoons sesame oil
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• Zest and juice of 1 orange
• Eight 4-ounce thin pork chops, bone-in is great, but I used boneless
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro, for garnish (optional)
• 2 green onions, sliced for garnish (optional)

Directions:

Place 1/4 cup vegetable oil, sugar, vinegar, ginger, sriracha, sesame oil, garlic and orange juice and zest in a food processo,r and process for 15 seconds. Put the pork chops in a heavy-duty resalable plastic bag. Add half of the marinade and reserve the other half until serving. Squeeze out the air, seal and move the chops around in the bag to coat evenly. Marinate in the refrigerator at least 30 minutes, and up to 8 hours.

Remove the chops from the bag. Place the reserved marinade in a small saucepot. Bring to a boil to reduce and thicken the sauce a bit, about 2 minutes. Heat large stainless saute pan over medium-high heat and add the remaining 1 teaspoon oil. Brown the chops in the hot pan, cooking 2-4 minutes per side (depending on thickness). Cook until done (155 degrees F internal temperature). Serve with a spoonful of the glaze, with cilantro and sliced green onions sprinkled on top.*NOTE: You can also brown the chops and then bake off until done in a 375 degree oven.