Grilled Pork with Nuoc Cham — is a staple in Vietnamese restaurants.
PrintPork with Nuoc Cham
Pork with Nuoc Cham – This all-purpose sauce will go with any grilled protein and doubles as an excellent dressing for dinner salads. Grilled pork chops—are a staple in Vietnamese restaurants. But they’re so easy to make that there’s no reason they shouldn’t be a staple at home, too, especially during grilling season.
Slicing the pork at the end is a traditional Vietnamese approach to eating meat as the pieces are easier to pick up with chopsticks. Enjoy with rice, a stir-fried or grilled vegetable and a quick soup.
As for the vegetables, we like fresh sliced cucumber and quick-pickled carrot and daikon. You can pickle them up to a week ahead of time, but you can also use them right away—they’re cut into a thin julienne, so the pickling brine does its work very quickly. And if you’re making your own nuoc cham, a sauce made from fish sauce, lime juice, sugar, garlic, and chilies, you can get that out of the way in advance, too.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
- 2 tablespoons fish sauce
- ½ teaspoon sugar
- 1 small garlic clove, finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped cilantro stems, plus leaves for serving
- 2 1-inch-thick boneless pork shoulder steaks (about 1 pound each)
- Kosher salt, freshly ground pepper
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
Instructions
- Prepare a grill for medium heat. Whisk lime juice, fish sauce, sugar, and 1 Tbsp. water in a small bowl until sugar is dissolved. Stir in garlic and cilantro stems; set nuoc cham aside.
- Place pork on a rimmed baking sheet and season generously on both sides with salt and pepper, then drizzle with oil and turn pork to coat. Grill, turning often and moving around on grill to prevent flare-ups, until lightly charred all over and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center registers 140° for medium), 12–15 minutes. Transfer meat to a cutting board and let rest 10 minutes before slicing.
- Spoon some of nuoc cham over pork and top with cilantro leaves. Serve remaining sauce alongside.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 4