Today we're preparing a batch of pork chops marinated in fresh lemon juice and ginger, with plenty of crushed garlic, soy sauce, and fish sauce. This creates a pleasant and complex mosaic of savory umami notes, set against a backdrop that's both fresh and crisp. We're pairing the pork chops with coconut rice and a blissfully spicy jalapeno dipping sauce.

Why You'll Love Today's Recipe

1) The Jalapeno Sauce. I was surprised that this little dip pretty much stole the show the night I served the porkchops. My son, who loves all things spicy, simply adored this dipping sauce. As an aside, it's great on eggs, steak, and white bodied fish.

2) BBQ or Stovetop. Today's recipe works both on the bbq or on a stovetop griddle or pan. Your choice.

3) Make Ahead (Sort Of). The marinade and sauce can be made a few days ahead of time. You can also leave the porkchops to marinate for up to two days. So, you can make today's recipe ahead of time - sort of.

4) Coconut Rice. I'm not sure why or how I never thought of trying this before, but coconut rice is now one of my new favorite ways to eat rice. That said, the coconut flavor in the rice beautifully complements the flavors from the marinade, elevating both.

Ingredient Notes and Tips

1) Fish Sauce - What Is it? 'Why' Is It? Fish sauce is used to give recipes a distinct 'umami-fish' flavor, carried on abundant 'saltiness' or 'brine.' That's the best way I can describe it, and there really isn't a substitute, as fish sauce is more or less a 'baseline' ingredient in the recipes in which it's used, especially since Soy Sauce and Fish Sauce are so often used together - as we're doing today. Conversely, fish sauce 'can' stand in for anchovies in 'some' recipes, but oddly the reverse is 'not' true. All right, that's 'why' and 'how' fish sauce is used, but 'what' is fish sauce? Well, for some reason, our distant ancestors the world over, from Ancient Rome to Ancient China, decided they loved the flavor of fermented fish - yes, that would be aged fish in the days 'before' refrigeration. Now, imagine that process for a second, from the perspective of the first person to do it. Someone caught a fish, left it to bake in the sun in its own juices, until it was quite literally falling apart with decay, after which they locked it away in a clay jar for months. They then discarded the now thoroughly decomposed fish and drank the juice. And that's 'what' fish sauce is, removing any shadow of a doubt that our ancestors were far braver souls than we.

2) The Lemon Juice. I'd say you can get away with bottled lemon juice in the marinade, since it will be appearing alongside heavy and powerful ingredients, masking the qualities that make fresh lemon juice desirable. However, in the dipping sauce, fresh really is a must. On top of that, slicing a lemon into squeezable halves or wedges is practically as easy as opening a bottle and measuring it out. Furthermore, bottled lemon juice simply isn't as flavorful, lacking the full 'zest' or 'brightness' of fresh lemon juice, since the juice begins breaking down chemically almost as soon as it leaves the lemon. Beyond that, the juice's flavor is often times further diluted with preservatives.

Selecting Quality Pork

1) The Color - Pinker is Better. As with other meats, you want to pay close attention to the color. If the pork is 'grey' or 'whitish,' that means a lot of its juices have either 'set,' due to being left out for too long, or that they have simply drained away somewhere on its journey to your market shelf. By contrast, pork that is pinkish or 'rosy red' is still full of free-flowing juice, and will provide you with a tender, juicier piece of meat, and a more flavorful experience overall. This is also an indication that the meat hasn't been sitting on a shelf, and of better-quality handling over all.

2) Marbling - The Skinny on Fat. The truth here is that if you want a 'good' tasting piece of meat, you need a piece with a decent amount of fat. The fat is where the flavor is. When the pork is cooking, the more 'fat' that reduces into the pan for the meat to cook in, and that 'absorbs' into the meat itself, the better tasting the pork will be - and the juicier it will be. You want a nice 'rind' of fat on the outside of the meat, as well as 'speckled' within the meat itself.

3) The Color of the Fat. The fat should be white. Period. Specs of 'red' or 'black' or traces of grey are a nonstarter. Those are signs of decay and poor handling.

4) Bones are White. If buying 'bone-in' pork, and this applies to all cuts with bones, you want a 'white' or 'off-white' bone. Dark bones are sign of encroaching decay, meaning the pork has been sitting out on the shelf much too long.

5) Or Do What I Do. Now, all of that's well and good, but the way I assure myself that I'm getting quality pork is Butcher Box.

The main idea behind ButcherBox is that everyone can - and should - have access to high-quality, humanely raised meat. To this end, ButchBox is an affordable source of 100% grass-fed 'and' grass-finished beef, free-range organic chicken, pork that's been raised crate-free, wild-caught seafood, all delivered to your door each month in 100% recycled packaging. Now, given that list, you're probably just how affordable ButchBox could really be, and the answer is that average price of a meal from ButcherBox is just $6 USD, and shipping is always free. That's right, no shipping cost - ever. So sign up, become a member, and start receiving monthly boxes of high quality, affordable meat. Yes, you customized your box on the fly, and members receive exclusive deals, priority access to new products, and a support team that's available 24/7.

Another summertime favorite of ours are the pictured Bamboo Flatwear Set from Emerging Green. This bamboo cutlery set is an alternative to plastic and silverware making it also perfect and accessible for picnics, barbecues, school lunches, parties or everyday meals. It can be easily cleaned using dishwasher or with a quick hand wash.