Pork Chops with Pineapple Fried Rice

My friend Melissa has been raving about these Pork Chops with Pineapple Fried Rice since the first time she made them. I was hemming and hawing about making them (it's been a long time since I last cooked pork chops) but I finally bit the bullet and I'm so glad I did.

Sadly, I couldn't find bone-in pork chops in my supermarket. They didn't even have them in the meat case. I'm not sure why - they had bone-in chicken breasts - but no bone-in pork chops. I ended up pounding the boneless chops out to an even thickness and just cooked them for less time. The key to fried rice is to cook the rice the night before. Every other time I've tried to make the rice the same day it clumps together and is totally unappealing. This was perfect - each grain stayed separate. Don't skip that step. It takes some planning ahead but it's well worth it.

An aside - I hate losing daylight this time of year. My photos really suffer. Thankfully I work from home and can usually photograph the leftovers the next day, but the night I made these I was in clean-up mode and since I cut SP's pork chop into bite-size pieces to make it easier for him to eat at work the next day I did the same for mine. Oh well.

This was a great dish and the leftovers were even better the next day.

Pork Chops with Pineapple Fried Rice
As seen on Alosha's Kitchen, slightly adapted from Pioneer Woman

1 medium pineapple, cut into large chunks
4 cups white rice, cooked the previous day and chilled overnight (from 1 1/3 cups dry)
4-6 medium bone-in pork chops
1 tablespoon canola or vegetable oil, divided
1 large sweet onion, sliced
6 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
2 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon Sriracha
3 cloves minced garlic
2 eggs, beaten
1 small red or yellow bell pepper, sliced thin
1 1/3 cups frozen peas
2 tablespoons soy sauce (additional)

Saute pineapple chunks over high heat in a non-stick or cast iron skillet until they have good marks/color. Set aside.

In the meantime, heat 1/2 tablespoon oil over medium high heat in a large deep skillet. Add the pork chops to the pan. Sear on both sides until they have nice color. If using boneless chops, remove them from the pan before proceeding. Add the sliced onions and work them into the spaces between the chops. Shake the pan and move the onions around and let them cook for a good couple of minutes.

When the onions are soft, add the soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, honey, and hot sauce. If you removed the boneless chops from the pan, add them back in now. Stir the sauce around, and let it cook for a few minutes, until the pork chops are completely cooked and the sauce is thicker. Remove the pork chops to a bowl, then let the sauce simmer for another 30 to 45 seconds. Pour it over the pork chops. Set aside.

Add the other 1/2 tablespoon oil to the same pan and heat over medium-high heat. Add the bell pepper and sauté for two minutes, until just soft. Add the garlic and stir it around, then add the eggs and immediately stir them to scramble. Add peas and a couple of tablespoons of soy sauce. Add the cooked rice then gently stir in the cooked pineapple chunks.

To serve, pile rice on a plate, then top with a pork chop and onions. Drizzle a little bit of sauce over the top.