Hong Kong Style Baked Pork Chop Rice (焗豬扒飯)

This Baked Pork Chop Rice is a Hong Kong restaurant classic! Fragrant egg fried rice, golden seared pork and a rich tomato sauce rest under gooey bubbling cheese for the most divine fusion experience. The sauce seeps into the rice as it bakes, making it incredibly delicious!

A Hong Kong cafe classic

If you’ve ever been lucky enough to travel to Hong Kong for a taste of authentic Cantonese food, you may have come across the incredibly notorious Baked Pork Chop Rice.

This dish has a home in almost every Cha Chaan Teng (茶餐廳), also known as Hong Kong’s tea-serving cafes, and was born out of the marriage between the East and the West post WWII.

Fusion can be found in every aspect of the dish, from the bed of classic Chinese egg fried rice to the gently simmered tomato sauce smothered under a stringy melted cheese blanket.

And if that’s not enough, nestled between the glorious layers lies the true hidden gem: succulent pork chops seared until golden with juices sealed from a crispy egg flour coating.

It really is comfort food at its absolute finest because you get everything a good, homey meal needs. Just check out at how the grains fall WITH the oozing cheese and imagine that going straight into your mouth!

Why this recipe works

• Using tomato paste and ketchup adds a deeper flavor to the sauce.
• Coating the meat in a light batter seals the moisture in to prevent it from getting dry.
• Adding green and red peppers means extra taste and texture to our Baked Pork Chop Rice.

What you’ll need

For the marinade

About the ingredients

You can find Shaoxing wine in Chinese supermakets, otherwise skip it altogether or substitute it with dry sherry.

Use a fork or chopsticks to mix the egg until the yolk and white has combined.

For the sauce

About the tomatoes

If you like more texture in your sauce, go for the firmer tomatoes. Otherwise, softer and riper versions will have more flavor and work just as well.

For the grains

About the grains

It’s best to use day old rice for the grains to be firmer and looser when cooked. If you’re preparing this meal in advance, have the rice cooked the day before and stored in the fridge.

Otherwise, use less water to cook the grains and put it in the freezer for 1 hour or until the grains become drier. You will need to mix the grains every 15 minutes.

How to make this recipe

Use the back of a knife to hammer at the meat until the whole surface is covered with lines. This will help to tenderize it.

Preheat the oven to 180°C (356°F), then marinate the pork in the salt, sugar, chicken bouillon powder, pepper, Shaoxing wine, sesame oil, light soy sauce and 2 tbsp egg mix for a minimum of 20 minutes.

Dice the tomatoes into 2cm (0.8″) chunks or to your preference.

Repeat the chopping with the capsicums.

Add 4 tbsp oil to the wok on medium heat and cook the onions and garlic for 3 minutes or until aromatic.

Add the capsicums and stir fry on high heat for 30 seconds.

Pour in the tomatoes and stir in for 1 minute.

Add the tomato paste, tomato sauce, sugar and salt, then mix well.

Let the sauce simmer on medium heat for 5 minutes and slowly pour in the mixed starch slurry as you stir until it has reached your preferred consistency. Set aside while you cook the other ingredients.

Coat the meat in the remaining egg mix along with the corn starch.

Pour enough oil in a wok to cover the surface and fry the pork chops on medium heat for 2 minutes on both sides, or until golden brown. Plate on paper towels to absorb the excess oil as you work on the other parts of the dish.

Add 3 tbsp oil into a wok on medium heat, then turn to high and pour in the rice. Stir for 2 minutes and loosen the grains using your cooking utensil.

Beat the eggs and make a well in the center. Pour the mixture in and scramble it for 2 minutes or until mostly cooked.

Mix the grains and eggs together and season with the salt and chicken bouillon powder.

Tip: For an even seasoning distribution, combine the salt and chicken bouillon powder with 4 tbsp water and use your fingers to dip and flick the water onto the grains.

Evenly spread the fried rice out in an oven-proof dish (ours was 30 x 20cm /12″ x 8″).

Lay the pork on top of the rice.

Pour the tomato sauce over the meat and spread across until it covers everything underneath.

Top the dish with a layer of cheese.

Bake the dish in the oven for 10 minutes or until the cheese is golden brown.

Serve the Baked Pork Chop Rice immediately as is!

FAQs

Tips for the best results

• Use gooey melting cheese like mozzarella or cheddar. Much like lasagne, you’ll have a gorgeously stringy topping to enjoy.
• Cut the fried pork chops into segments before layering. While it might look nicer keeping each piece whole, cutting them into thick strips makes it much easier to cut and serve.
• Marinate the meat overnight. As with every recipe that asks for marinating, you’ll get the deepest flavor when the protein is marinated for longer.

Unmissable rice recipes!

• Dried Scallop and Egg White Fried Rice (瑤柱蛋白炒飯) – A simple and incredibly savory celebration dish that can be enjoyed any time of the year.
• Rice Cooker Chicken and Mushroom Rice – Comfort food at its best! Juicy chicken, flavorful mushrooms and fragrant grains is what you’ll get with this recipe.
• Vietnamese Sticky Rice (Xôi Mặn) – This is a super easy meal to make with all your favorite toppings. It even works as a great lunch box meal.
• Fish Congee (魚片粥) – Silky, homey and unbelievably easy, there’s no reason not to love this classic.
• Century Egg and Pork Congee (皮蛋瘦肉粥) – An iconic Cantonese congee, it makes the best of each ingredient for an extra hearty bowl!

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