Vietnamese Pork Chops

Happy Friday!  Another week gone...but another week closer to Hawaii!!  

(...I'm just going to ignore the fact that that also means another week closer to school starting again.)

I have not shared here yet, but on August 10th, Tony and I are taking a trip with our friends to Hawaii!  I can't wait; I've never been to Hawaii before so I'm looking forward to foodie finds, hiking, sightseeing, and just relaxing!  We're going to visit one of our good friends, who moved there a little over a year ago, so at least we will have a local with us to show us around.  We'll be staying on Oahu, since that's where our friend lives and works, and I've already been doing plenty of research to find the best food spots.  I have quite a list with all of the must-eats, such as Leonards malasadas and Liliha Bakery's famous coco puffs.  If you've been to Oahu and have any suggestions, please feel free to share!

I hope you all don't mind that I'm posting a lot of savory dishes, as opposed to baked goods.  I've been doing a lot more cooking than baking in the kitchen lately, mostly because the summer heat has made me reluctant to turn on my oven.  However, just because the food isn't sweet doesn't mean that it's any less enjoyable.  In fact, I've thoroughly enjoyed cooking AND eating all of these savory dishes.  

This recipe comes from my go-to food magazine, Bon Appetit.  I loved the simplicity of the dish along with the fact that it did not require me to turn on my oven.  It also had an interesting twist, using lots of Vietnamese flavors such as rice vinegar and nuoc mam (fish sauce).  I really didn't know what to expect when I decided to make this dish, but I was very pleased with how it turned out (like most Bon Appetit recipes).  The pork chops were very flavorful and the lime wedges were the perfect accompaniment to the sweet and savory flavor of the chops.  Best of all, this was another simple dish to make...perfect for a weekday meal.

Vietnamese Pork Chops
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Yield:  4 servings
Recipe from Bon Appetit magazine, June 2013 issue

Ingredients:
1 small shallot, finely chopped
1/3 cup (packed) light brown sugar
1/4 cup fish sauce (such as nuoc mam or nam pla)
2 Tbsp. unseasoned rice vinegar
1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
4 1" thick-cut bone-in pork chops (about 2 1/2 lb. total)
1 Tbsp. vegetable oil
Kosher salt
Lime wedges, for serving

Directions:
Whisk shallot, brown sugar, fish sauce, vinegar, and pepper in a shallow dish.  Using a fork, pierce pork chops all over and add to marinade in dish.  Turn to coat.  Cover and let pork marinate at room temperature, turning occasionally, for 20 minutes.

Remove pork chops from marinade, scraping off excess (reserve marinade for sauce).  Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Lightly season pork chops with salt.  Cook until browned and cooked through, about 4 minutes per side.  Let pork chops rest 10 minutes before serving.

Meanwhile, bring marinade to a boil in a small saucepan and cook until reduced to 1/4 cup, about 4 minutes.

Serve pork chops with reduced marinade and lime wedges.