These fried pork chop buns, with the chop bone kept in to stay true to Hong Kong-style eating, will make you salivate throughout the whole cooking process.

Whether served in a cheap crusty roll or a soft bap, the crisp outer edges and succulent meat of the pork chop will make your mouth water. From “Hong Kong Kitchen” by Jeremy Pang (Hamlyn, 2025).

Pork Chop Crusty Roll

Serves 2.

For the pork chops:

2 bone-in pork chops, each about 7 to 9 oz.

2 crusty rolls of your choice

Vegetable oil, for frying

1 tomato

4 leaves of lettuce; baby gem or iceberg recommended for a good crunch

Japanese mayonnaise, such as Kewpie

For the marinade:

½ tsp. sugar

¼ tsp. salt

¼ tsp. white pepper

1 clove garlic

Pinch of five-spice powder

1 tbsp. Shaoxing rice wine

1 tbsp. light soy sauce

2 tbsp. cornstarch

Directions

Keeping the meat on the bone, slice into the edges of each pork chop 3 or 4 times, creating slits all the way through that will help keep the meat flat when cooked. Then, turn your knife or cleaver upside down and, using the blunt end, bash the meat as many times as possible to flatten it out, making tracks along the pork. This will begin to tenderize the chop and allow the marinade to soak into the meat well. The pork chops should be flattened to a similar thickness as a cutlet.

In a shallow dish, mix together all the marinade ingredients. Place pork chops in the dish and massage in the marinade until they are completely coated. Refrigerate for a minimum of an hour, ideally overnight, to marinate.

Slice the crusty rolls in half, ready for the fried pork chops. Cut the tomato into thin slices, and make sure your lettuce is washed and patted dry so it maintains its crunch.

Traditionally in Hong Kong, the chops are deep-fried to order, but we’ll shallow-fry the chops: Pour roughly ¼ inch of oil into a large frying pan and bring to a medium-high heat. Place the chops in the frying pan. Fry for 2 to 3 minutes on each side, until golden brown all over, then place on a few sheets of paper towel to drain off any excess oil.

Once the chops are done, put them directly into the crusty rolls, followed by a couple of slices of tomato and some lettuce. Squeeze a dollop of Japanese mayonnaise over the top, put the crusty top on the roll, and serve.