Suon Kho Xa Gung Toi Ot (Vietnamese Braised Pork Chops with Lemongrass, Ginger, Garlic, and Chilies)

Recipe and photos updated from the archives June 20, 2014:



Do you like your pork firm or tender?

My mom likes it firm and that's the only way I had ever eaten pork growing up. Then about a decade ago, my friend DP stayed with me when she moved out to California. For that week, I'd come home from work with the yummiest homecooked meals. The only dish I can remember her making were these braised pork chops that were so incredibly tender that I became an instant convert.            

So when lil' sis recently requested pork chops, I said I'd make some with lemongrass, ginger, garlic, and chilies. But instead of grilling them, which is the more popular method, I braised them for almost an hour, until the pork chops were as tender as the memory of my friend's dish.

That's the funny thing about food memories. While many of my food preferences are based upon my mom's cooking, I have very distinctly different tastes from her. I like more tartness, more garlic, more tenderness in my meats. Another friend cooked pork chops by salting and boiling them for several hours until they fell part. That didn't sound very appetizing to me at all. But that was how my friend's mom always made pork chops, so that's how she made them.

This recipe is pretty similar to my recipe for Ga Nuong Xa (Vietnamese Grilled Chicken with Lemongrass) except I like to substitute honey for sugar when braising. I think it adds deeper flavor notes since it's simmered with fish sauce for so long. Braising also eliminates the need to marinate the meat since the flavors will be concentrated as it cooks.

Love Actually Mr. Bean: Banoffee Pie, Flapjacks, Ginger Bears, Kendal Mint Cake, Twiglets, and Worcester Sauce and Prawn Cocktail Potato Crisps

When I first started blogging I just wrote.

I didn't reveal very much so my posts had little personality. I wasn't sure whether this was something I wanted to continue. I obviously didn't have any readers. I didn't tell anyone I knew about it at all.

I can't remember when or how the rest of my cousins found out. I think the questions started when the camera came out. Then came the mass email to all the cousins. Some are regular readers, a few comment, and of course, cousin Q started a food blog too. Some of my cousins' friends are lurkers; a few are lurkers who later found out the blog they've been reading was actually their friend's cousin. Did you follow those trains of thought? :P

As for my friends, I remember emailing some of them the link when I posted my recipe for Cha Gio (Vietnamese Egg Rolls) simply because some had asked for other recipes before. As far as I know, only one friend actually reads my blog on a regular basis, a few others read it sporadically.

So who am I writing to when I blog?

Sometimes I'm writing just for me. Casting a net and pulling in a few readers. Like real life, I tend to let others initiate contact. Somewhere between the comments about food, a conversation starts, and sometimes it evolves into friendship. Which is how Oanh of Halfway Between Ca Mau and Sai Gon came into my life.

I love you Oanh! Evidently, she loves me too. When I proposed a food swap, I wasn't expecting such bounty. You can read Oanh's post about what I sent to her in "The Joys of Blogging."

Sorry, you don't get to see what's written on the other side of the card. :P But wanna see what's under the plastic bubble wrap?

Sigtuna, Sweden: More Rune Stones Than Any Other Town

Ever the gracious host, HH had set up a cot for me, cleared a shelf in the bathroom, and lent me his extra cell phone. I was an excellent houseguest too! Even though I already bought him presents, at his request, I also went to Banana Republic to buy him several shirts and a very expensive pair of slacks (I told you he was a clotheshorse!). He kept trying to pay me for them, but I refused since I was staying with him for so long and because I figured it'd all even out in the end. I'm nice like that.

Though we only saw each other after HH came home from work each evening, I didn't want to wear out my welcome. I know how exhausting it can be to entertain someone every night. And even if I'm not specifically entertaining them, it's nice just to have my own space or downtime after coming home from work.