With rich tomato sauce infused into the tender, aromatic pork chops and golden egg fried rice, Hong Kong style baked pork chop rice is a signature dish in Hong Kong cha chaan teng (or ‘tea restaurants’). The addition of stretchy melted cheese gives you an extra touch of creamy cheesiness that makes this dish incredibly irresistible!
Learn how to make this delicious, family-friendly meal and enjoy an authentic taste of Cantonese cuisine!
Table of contents
What makes this dish so good
- Filling and satisfying: The ooey-gooey melted cheese gives you a rich, creamy, fulfilling taste which is perfectly neutralised with the refreshing, tangy tomato sauce. Combined with the delicious egg fried rice, I’m sure you can’t bear the temptation to have one bite after another!
- Classic Hong Kong flavours: Baked pork chop rice is an iconic dish where the combination of egg fried rice and the sweet, tangy tomato sauce is commonly found in Cantonese cuisine.
- A complete meal: With vegetables, lean meat, and rice all in one dish, there’s no need to add anything else for this meal – although pairing with a glass of iced lemon tea would complete the meal even further if you’d like!
Ingredients for Hong Kong style baked pork chop rice
- Cooked overnight rice: Freshly cooked rice is steamy and more moist, which makes fried rice soggier. Using day-old rice is perfect for fried rice as it’s drier and chewier, resulting in a better texture.
- Eggs: For making egg fried rice.
- Mozzarella cheese: For making the heavenly gooey melted cheese on top of the baked pork chop rice.
- Garlic and onion: Basic ingredients in many Chinese cuisines that amp up the flavour and aroma of the dish.
- Tomatoes: This recipe uses 3-4 fresh tomatoes to make a sweet tangy tomato sauce.
- Tomato paste: Not only does tomato paste intensity the tomato flavour but it also adds umami.
- Ketchup: It makes the sweet-sour taste richer!
- Sugar: This adds sweetness to the tomato sauce.
- Water: For the tomato sauce.
- Chicken powder: This amplifies the flavours and adds an extra note of meaty flavour.
- Salt: For seasoning the sauce.
- Cornstarch slurry: By dissolving cornstarch in water, this helps thicken the sauce.
- Vegetable oil: For pan frying the ingredients.
For the marinade:
- Pork chops: This recipe covers 3 pieces of pork chops.
- Cornstarch: The key ingredient in the marinade that locks in the moisture of the pork chops to achieve a tender and juicy texture.
- Sugar: Not only does sugar add sweetness to the dish but it also makes the pork chops more tender and juicier!
- Salt: Acts as a flavour enhancer.
- Soy sauce: It enhances the savoury flavour of the pork chops.
- Sesame oil and Chinese cooking wine: These add moisture to the pork chops and remove their odour.
How to make Hong Kong style baked pork chop rice
Cook the pork chops
- Marinate the pork chops for 20-30 minutes.
- Heat some oil in a frying pan over medium-high heat, then pan-sear pork chops until golden brown (2-3 minutes per side). Set aside.
Prepare the tomato sauce
- Stir fry sliced onions until fragrant. Add in tomatoes and minced garlic. Cook until the tomatoes begin to soften.
- Add in water, tomato paste, ketchup, sugar, chicken powder, and salt. Stir to combine. Bring the mixture to boil, lower the heat, and simmer for 5-8 minutes. Do a taste test.
- Add in cornstarch slurry, then stir to thicken the sauce.
Cook the egg fried rice
- In another wok, heat some oil over high heat, then add in eggs and rice.
- Stir constantly and quickly to ensure each rice grain is cooked to golden brown.
Assemble the dish
- Preheat the oven to 230°C.
- Transfer the egg fried rice to a baking dish. Place the pork chops on top then sprinkle shredded mozzarella cheese over them. Pour over the tomato sauce and sprinkle more shredded mozzarella cheese over the sauce evenly.
- Bake for 10 minutes until the cheese turns golden brown.
Success tips on making Hong Kong style baked pork chop rice
Massage the pork chops with the marinade.
By massaging the meat with the marinade, this allows the pork chops to absorb the seasoning ingredients more effectively.
Do not overcook the pork chops from the beginning.
To ensure the pork chops remain tender and juicy after baking, do not overcook them from the beginning. It took me about 2-3 minutes per side to pan-sear the pork chops until golden brown. Depending on the size and thickness of your pork chops, it may take shorter or longer time.
👉 How to know if the pork chops are cooked?
Use a chopstick, a baking needle, or a toothpick to poke the thickest part of the pork chops. If it can go right through the pork chops, then you can remove them from the frying pan and set aside.
This photo shows the pork chops after pan-searing. The meat inside should have a very light pink colour with lots of juice.
Stir-fry the rice with eggs in a cutting method and quickly over high heat.
To make a delicious golden egg fried rice, be sure to stir-fry the rice in a cutting method and toss constantly to ensure every rice grain is covered with eggs. It is also important to stir-fry the rice quickly over high heat. In Chinese, we call this “wok hei” 鑊氣, which literally means wok gas if you translate it into English. It means to produce adequate strength and intensity of heat when cooking fried rice to make it flavourful.
With tender pork chops covered in a tangy tomato sauce and melted cheese on top, this Hong Kong style pork chop rice is a taste of Hong Kong food. It is fulfilling, family-friendly, and full of flavours!
Related recipes
I’d love to hear about your experience making my recipes! If you’ve tried this Hong Kong Style Baked Pork Chop Rice recipe or any other recipe on HomeCookJournal, then don’t forget to rate the recipe and leave a comment below. Feel free to take snapshots of your experience with my recipes and share them on Instagram so I can repost on stories! And if you have any other foods you’d like to make, please feel free to comment as well!
Hong Kong Style Baked Pork Chop Rice
Equipment
- 1 Frying pan
- 2 Woks
Ingredients
- 3 pork chops
- 2 tbsp oil for cooking
- 250 g shredded mozzarella cheese
For the marinade
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp cornstarch
- 1 tsp cooking wine
- 1½ tsp soy sauce
- 1½ tsp sesame oil
For the tomato sauce
- 1 onion sliced
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 3-4 tomatoes cut into big chunks
- 150 ml water
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 2 tbsp ketchup
- 2 tsp sugar
- 1 tsp chicken powder
- 1 tsp salt
- cornstarch slurry (1 tsp cornstarch dissolved in about 2 tbsp water)
For the egg fried rice
- 2 cups rice cooked overnight
- 3 eggs beaten
- a pinch of salt
Instructions
Cook the pork chops
- Marinate pork chops for 10 minutes.
- Heat a frying pan with oil and pan sear the marinated pork chops until golden brown (3-4 mins per side). Set aside.
Make the tomato sauce
- Heat about 1 tbsp oil in a wok pan and stir-fry sliced onions until fragrant. Add in tomatoes and minced garlic, then stir-fry until the tomatoes begin to soften.
- Add in water to a level that covers 1/3 of tomatoes, then add in tomato paste, ketchup, sugar, chicken powder, and salt. Stir to combine.
- Bring the sauce to boil, turn down the heat, and simmer for 5-8 mins.
- Taste the sauce – add in more sugar if you prefer a sweeter sauce, or alternatively tomato paste if you prefer a more tangy sauce.
- Add in cornstarch slurry, stir and cook until the sauce thickens.
Cook the egg fried rice
- Heat about 1 tbsp oil in a wok. Make sure the wok is hot enough before frying the rice, otherwise the rice will stick on the wok.
- Add in eggs and rice. Keep separating the rice and stir frying in a cutting method to make sure every rice grain is covered with eggs.
Assemble the dish
- Preheat the oven to 230°C.
- In a baking tray, distribute the egg fried rice evenly at the bottom. Place the pork chops on top of the rice then sprinkle shredded mozzarella cheese generously over the pork chops. Pour over the tomato sauce then sprinkle more shredded cheese evenly on top.
- Bake in the preheated oven at 230°C for 10-15 mins or until golden brown.