Pressure Cooker Pork Loin Chops in HK Onion Sauce
Try this Pressure Cooker Pork Loin Chop in HK Onion Sauce recipe.
Try this Pressure Cooker Pork Loin Chop in HK Onion Sauce recipe.
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon worcestershire sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon sugar
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
- 1 tablespoon light soy sauce
- 1/4 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1 small onion (sliced)
- kosher salt (to taste)
- 1 tablespoon shaoxing wine
- 4 pork loin chops (boneless 1.25 inches thick, try to choose pork chops with some fat marbli
- 3/4 cup chicken stock (low sodium)
- 1 1/2 tablespoon cornstarch ( mixed with 2 tablespoons water)
- 1/4 teaspoon white pepper (ground)
- Carbohydrate 3.79848862195959 g
- Cholesterol 0 mg
- Fat 2.25808320747155 g
- Fiber 0.0647006549142412 g
- Protein 0.895860362614464 g
- Saturated Fat 0.313825936175524 g
- Serving Size 1 1 -4 serving (36g)
- Sodium 1471.22954577592 mg
- Sugar 3.73378796704535 g
- Trans Fat 0.0726463979090031 g
- Calories 48 calories
Step-by-step
- Tenderize the Pork Loin Chops: Use the backend of a heavy knife and pound both sides of the pork loin chops to tenderize the meat.
- Marinate the tenderized pork loin chops for 20 minutes with 1/2 teaspoon of sugar, 1/4 teaspoon of salt, 1/4 teaspoon of sesame oil, 1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper, 1 tablespoon of light soy sauce, and 1 tablespoon of Shaoxing wine.
- Press Sauté mode on the Instant Pot. Wait until the indicator says "hot". This will prevent the pork loin chops from sticking to the pot.
- Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil into the pot. Ensure to coat the oil over the whole bottom of the pot. Add the marinated pork loin chops into the pot, then let it brown for roughly 1 – 2 minutes on each side (don’t need to keep flipping). Do not let it burn. Remove and set aside.
- Add in the sliced onions. Add a pinch of kosher salt and ground black pepper to season if you like. Cook the onions for roughly 1 minute until soften.
- Deglaze: Add in 1 tablespoon of balsamic vinegar and partially deglaze the bottom of the pot with a wooden spoon.
- Add in 3/4 cup of chicken stock, 1 tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce, 1 tablespoon of soy sauce, and 1 teaspoon of sugar. Mix well and fully deglaze. Taste the seasoning and adjust with kosher salt if necessary.
- Place the pork loin chops with all the meat juice into the pot. Close lid and pressure cook on manual at High Pressure for 1 minute. Turn off the heat and fully Natural Release (roughly 10 minutes). Open the lid.
- Remove the pork loin chops and set aside. Turn heat to medium by pressing sauté button. Taste the seasoning and add more salt if desired. Mix the cornstarch with water and mix it into the onion sauce one third at a time until desired thickness.
- Drizzle the onion sauce over the pork loin chops and serve immediately!
Soy sauce does the heavy lifting in this recipe, providing both the deep umami base for the braising liquid and the color that gives the HK onion sauce its characteristic look. Lean pork loin chops present a distinct culinary challenge because their low fat content causes them to dry out rapidly under conventional high heat. Selecting chops cut to a thickness of 1.25 inches provides a sufficient buffer against overcooking, while mechanical tenderization using the spine of a heavy cleaver physically fractures tough collagen fibers before the meat ever touches the heat. Marinating those pounded chops for twenty minutes allows the Shaoxing wine and seasonings to penetrate the outer millimeter of muscle tissue.
Instant Pot owners must wait for the display to read hot before introducing the oil and meat; skipping this preheating phase causes proteins to bond with the stainless steel surface, creating stubborn fond that burns rather than caramelizes. Browning the exterior for precisely one to two minutes per side develops Maillard compounds without cooking the interior through. Pressure cooking at high pressure for just one minute is entirely sufficient for cuts of this thickness when paired with a mandatory ten-minute natural pressure release, which allows internal juices to redistribute evenly throughout the tight muscle fibers.
Evaluating doneness on lean cuts without a digital thermometer requires observing the clarity of escaping juices when pierced with a paring knife. Clear juices indicate the protein has coagulated fully, whereas pink juices signal undercooked centers that require another minute under pressure. Thickening the remaining broth requires whisking in the cornstarch slurry in thirds over medium heat until the liquid coats the back of a spoon. Diners lacking Shaoxing wine can substitute dry sherry at a one-to-one ratio without altering the final flavor profile significantly.
