Hainanese Pork Chop

Serves 4 - 6

For the meat:
5- 6 pieces of pork cutlets
2 tablespoons water
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1 beaten egg
Pinch of finely ground white pepper
About 10 cream crackers (or you can use normal breadcrumbs or panko)
Vegetable, peanut or ground nut oil for frying

Vegetables:
2 small - medium waxy potatoes, cut into wedges
2 red onions, cut into wedges
2 tomatoes, cut into wedges
4 cloves garlic, chopped
Large handful of canned or frozen peas
Vegetable, peanut or ground nut oil for frying

Sauce:
10 tablespoons water or stock
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons oyster sauce
1 teaspoon sesame oil
4 tablespoons tomato ketchup
5 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon HP sauce
1/2 tablespoon chili sauce/hot sauce
1/2 teaspoon finely ground white pepper

1. Tenderise the pork by flattening the cutlets with a mallet.

2. Marinade the  pieces in the water, salt, sugar, beaten egg and white pepper.

3. Peel the potatoes and cut them into chips (or whatever shape you like!). Soak them in water to prevent them from discolouring.

4. Pound he cream crackers till they resemble breadcrumbs.

5. Cut the onions and tomatoes into wedges, and chop up the garlic.

6. In a bowl, whisk all the ingredients for the sauce.

7. Drain and pat dry the potatoes and shallow fry them wok or pan in oil till they're golden brown on the outside and soft on the inside. Drain on paper towels and set aside. Reserve the oil for later.

8. In another pan or wok, heat up fresh oil. Coat the cutlets in the breadcrumbs and fry them till golden brown and crispy. Drain on paper towels and set aside.

9. Using the reserved oil from the potatoes, fry the onions till they soften and become translucent. Then add the garlic and fry for a minute.

10. Add the sauce, then the tomatoes and peas and simmer till the tomatoes soften.

11. Slice up the pork cutlets.

12. Throw the potatoes and pork back into the sauce to heat up, and serve immediately. (Or, you can place the potatoes and pork in a low oven after frying to keep warm while you make the sauce, then pour over the sauce when ready to serve. )

* You may wish to either increase the amounts for the sauce, or decrease the number of pork cutlets to 4 or 5, or use smaller potatoes, depending on whether you like lots of sauce or not. If you like loads of sauce to eat with steamed rice, I suggest using 4 or 5 cutlets, and smaller potatoes. Or, increasing the amount for the sauce!

I've also done a recipe for Cantonese style Sweet and Sour pork. The sauce and ingredients differ slightly from Hainanese Pork Chop. The former uses slightly fatty pork, while the latter uses lean pieces of pork. 

During the colonial days in Singapore, British households employed Hainanese cooks and this dish was named probably because it was Hainanese cooks who made it.

It must have been what they thought was Western food as it consists of tomato ketchup and potato chips (fries), HP sauce and Worcestershire sauce. But they also used traditional Asian ingredients such as oyster sauce, making it a truly fusion dish. 

To view other Singaporean food recipes:

The Real Singapore Noodles - Char Bee Hoon
Singapore Mutton Soup - Soup Kambing
Pigs Organ Soup 
Singapore Prawn Noodles Soup
Hainanese Chicken Rice
Fishball Minced Pork Noodles
Crockpot Singapore Chicken Curry
Crockpot Chinese Hamburger - Kong Bak Pau
Kung Po Frog Legs
Chinese Roast Pork Belly