Vietnamese Pork Chops in the Air Fryer
How to make Vietnamese lemongrass pork chops (sườn nướng) in the air fryer! These pork chops are super flavorful, easy to make, and can be served so many different ways!
What Are Vietnamese Pork Chops?
Vietnamese pork chops are super flavorful and typically marinated in lemongrass and fish sauce. It is traditionally grilled over charcoal.
The pork chops are commonly served as cơm tấm or cơm sườn nướng, which is a grilled pork chop rice plate that is made with broken rice or regular rice.
This popular dish is served with a fried egg, various veggies like pickled carrots and daikon, fresh cucumbers and tomato, other proteins like egg meatloaf (chả trứng) and shredded pork skin (bì), and a fish sauce dipping sauce (nước chấm).
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How to Make Air Fryer Vietnamese Pork Chops
Like I mentioned previously, the traditional way to cook Vietnamese pork chops is on a charcoal grill. However, I love making this at home in an air fryer!
Cooking these in the air fryer gives it a similar crispy char but without the fuss of starting up the grill and easier clean up!
The recipe I’m sharing here is super easy. Let’s walk through it together step-by-step so you can recreate this at home!
There is a recipe card at the end that you can print out, pin on Pinterest, or save it for later.
Let’s get started!
Ingredients for Vietnamese Pork Chops
- Pork chops: The main ingredient! I suggest bone-in pork chops for the best flavor but boneless pork chops work too. The thickness is up to your preference.
- Fish sauce: A signature ingredient of Vietnamese food. Adds saltiness with a pop of umami.
- Oyster sauce: Another umami-packed ingredient. Oyster sauce is salty and a little sweet.
- Soy sauce: Soy sauce brings more depth, savoriness, and umami. Also gives the pork a nice color.
- Lemongrass: The star of this recipe! Fresh lemongrass can be a pain to break down so I like to buy a big tub of minced lemongrass and keep it in the freezer. You can find it at your local Asian grocery store in the freezer aisle.
- Aromatics: Garlic and shallots make it so fragrant and just makes everything better.
- Vegetable oil: Add a little bit of oil to keep the pork moist and shiny as it cooks.
- Sweetener: To balance out the saltiness, I like to add honey which is floral and sugar for sweetness.
Step 1: Prepare the Pork
My favorite cut of pork to use in this dish is pork chops. You can also use boneless pork chops, but generally bone-in meat have the best flavor.
The thickness of your pork chop is up to personal preference. Keep in mind that the thicker the pork chop, the more time it may take to cook and marinate.
Start by pounding the pork to tenderize it. You can use a meat tenderizer, rolling pin, or the back edge of a knife. The harder you pound, the thinner the pork chop will become.
After pounding the pork chops, cut 1 inch slits on the outside edge of the pork to keep it from curling when cooked. There should be about 3-4 slits per pork chop.
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Step 2: Create the Marinade
In a large bowl, combine all of the ingredients to create the marinade. Mix it all together and massage it into the pork chops.
The sauces and seasonings are very pungent so the scent will linger on your hands. Because of this, I recommend wearing gloves or using tongs to mix.
Cover and marinate for at least an hour or overnight in the fridge for the best results.
Again, keep in mind that the thicker the pork chops, the longer you should marinate it.
Although this recipe is for pork chops, this marinade is also great for other protein such as chicken!
Step 3: Cooking the Pork Chops
As I mentioned earlier, Vietnamese pork chops are typically grilled over charcoal. A lot of people don’t own charcoal grills, including myself, so my favorite way to make this at home is in the air fryer!
Cooking pork chops in an air fryer results in a similar char without the whole grill set up. It’s easy and less messy too!
Air fryers are definitely one of my favorite kitchen accessories! There are so many uses for it beyond just a deep fryer replacement. You can use it instead of grilling, baking, broiling, dehydrating, etc! The air fryer I use (and love) is the Instant Pot Vortex Plus 6-1, 4-quart Air Fryer.
To cook, air fry the pork chops at 400°F for about 12 minutes. The amount of time depends on the thickness of the pork chops.
The thicker the pork chops, the longer the cook time. If you use a meat thermometer, the internal temp should reach 145°F. Make sure to flip halfway through so that both sides cook evenly.
If you don’t have an air fryer, you can also use a grill, stovetop pan, cast iron, or oven to cook the pork chops. Cook time and temperature vary depending on the method you choose.
Step 4: Serving Suggestions
These pork chops can be served so many different ways!
For a traditional cơm sườn nướng, serve with rice or broken rice, a sunny side up egg, pickled carrots and daikon, fresh cucumbers and tomato, scallion oil (mở hành), and fish sauce (nước chấm).
If you’re feeling extra you can also add Vietnamese egg meatloaf (chả trứng) and shredded pork skin (bì).
You can meal prep these pork chops and pair it with a different base, vegetables, and fish sauce dressing for each meal. Easy to switch it up so you’re not eating the same thing every time.
Besides for rice, these pork chops are great with vermicelli rice noodles (bún) or over a salad.
No matter what you decide to pair it with, always top it off with fish sauce or nước chấm!
Nước chấm is a combination of fish sauce, lime or vinegar, sugar, garlic, and Thai chilis. It’s the perfect balance of umami, sweet, savory, sour, and spicy to tie everything together!
RELATED: HOW TO MAKE VIETNAMESE PIZZA (BÁNH TRÁNG NƯỚNG)
Save This Recipe for Vietnamese Pork Chops
Vietnamese pork chops are so flavorful and easy to make in the air fryer. It’s a versatile marinade so you can use it to make several different meals and not get bored!
Save this recipe and I hope you recreate these delicious Vietnamese pork chops at home for yourself!
Did you make this recipe? I would love to see! Tag me on IG @feedmi_ or TikTok @feedmi
Vietnamese Pork Chops in the Air Fryer
Equipment
- air fryer
Ingredients
- 4 (~1.5 lbs) pork chops, bone-in
- 1 tbs fish sauce
- 2 tbs oyster sauce
- 1 tbs soy sauce
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 shallot, diced
- 3 tbs lemongrass, minced
- 2 tbs vegetable oil
- 1 tbs honey
- 1 tbs sugar
Instructions
- Pound the pork to tenderize.
- Cut 1 inch slits (about 3-4 cuts around the outer edges of the pork to prevent it from curling up when cooked.
- Combine all of the ingredients to make the marinade, mix well, and massage it into the pork. Cover and marinate in the fridge for a least an hour or overnight for best results.
- Air fry pork chops for about 12 minutes on 400℉, depending on the thickness. Flip it halfway. Don't overcrowd, may need to do multiple batches depending on the size of air fryer.
- Serve with your favorite base like rice, vermicelli noodles, or salad, then add cucumbers, veggies, fried egg, fish sauce (nước chấm), and enjoy!
