My mom made this super tasty and simple recipe for Dane and I while we were staying over my parents’ house, waiting for escrow on our new home. Well we finally moved in, and this is the first homemade recipe in my kitchen! This traditional Filipino recipe combines the savory flavor of soy sauce with the bright, tart flavor of citrus….soooo yummy. Marinating and slow cooking the onions in the sauce soaks up so much flavor as well. My mom adds sweet peppers as well which adds more flavor and color. I love to pair mine with nutritious roasted cauliflower!

 -Melanie

Health tips: Low fat, heart healthy, diabetes friendly, low carb

Ingredients (2 servings)

• 2 pork chops, 1/2-3/4″ thick
• 1/4 cup lime, lemon or calamansi juice (Tip: Calamansi is a small round Filipino citrus, with a similar taste to lime but stronger.)
• 
• 2 tablespoons reduced-sodium soy sauce
• 1/2 large or small/medium onion, peeled and sliced into rings (reserve 4-6 rings for garnish)
• 1/2 head garlic, minced/grated
• Optional: 4 small sweet peppers or a few hot peppers (like Fresno red or yellow peppers)
• Optional: Kosher salt, if you are not watching your sodium
• Large pinch of freshly ground pepper, plus more
• 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth

Steps

1. Wash pork and pat dry.
2. In a bowl, combine pork, lime juice, soy sauce, peppers, onions, garlic, and pepper. Massage marinade into meat and marinate for about 30 minutes.
3. Remove meat from marinade, letting excess marinade drip off. Set aside marinade, onions, garlic and peppers for later. Sprinkle pork with a bit of salt (if not watching your sodium), and more pepper on both sides.
4. In a pan over high heat, heat 1 tablespoon of oil. Add pork and quickly brown both sides, about 2 minutes per side. Set pork aside.
5. In the same pan, add 1/2 more tablespoon of oil. Add in the reserved onions, garlic and peppers (without marinade liquid), and cook until just starting to soften.
6. Return meat and juices to pan, nestling in the onions, garlic and peppers. Add reserved marinade and broth, and bring to a boil. Cover, turn heat to low, and simmer for about 10 minutes or until meat is fork-tender and liquid is reduced. Pork should be about 145-160 degrees F.
7. Serve pork with onions, peppers and sauce on top. Garnish with a few raw onions if desired. There’s a lot of extra sauce you can ladle over brown rice or veggies like cauliflower or broccoli. Enjoy!