Vietnamese pork chops

The cook

1. 01

   Step 1GET THE CHOPS MARINATING

   Snip through the fat along the outside edge of each chop at roughly 30 mm intervals, without cutting into the meat. That stops them curling on the grill. Mix all the marinade ingredients, rub over the chops and refrigerate in a covered non-reactive dish for 2–8 hours. Allow this marinating time on top of the 25 minutes of hands-on prep.

2. 02

   Step 2MAKE THE PICKLE

   At least 30 minutes before serving, stir the rice vinegar, water, sugar and salt together until dissolved. Add the carrots and toss well. Leave to pickle while you sort the fire, giving them another toss halfway through. You want sharpness and crunch, not floppy orange sadness.

3. 03

   Step 3MIX THE NƯỚC CHẤM

   Dissolve the sugar in the warm water, then stir in the fish sauce, lime juice, garlic and chilli. Taste it. It should be salty, sweet and sharp, with a little chilli bite. Add a splash more water if it feels too fierce.

4. 04

   Step 4BUILD TWO ZONES

   Set up a kettle BBQ with lit charcoal banked on one side and no coals on the other. Fit the cooking grate, close the lid and settle it around 200°C, measured at cooking-grate level on the indirect side. Clean the grate. Have a probe thermometer and a clean serving tray ready.

5. 05

   Step 5CHAR, DON'T CREMATE

   Lift the chops from the marinade and scrape off loose clumps of lemongrass and garlic, leaving a thin coating. Discard the used marinade. Grill over direct heat for 2–3 minutes per side with the lid open, watching closely. Aim for deep brown patches, not a black crust; move them to the cooler side immediately if the sugar catches or fat flares.

6. 06

   Step 6FINISH GENTLY

   Move the chops to the indirect side and close the lid. Cook for another 6–10 minutes, turning once, until the centre of each chop reaches 63°C. Probe from the side into the thickest meat, avoiding the bone. Expect roughly 10–16 minutes of cooking altogether, but let the thermometer call it.

7. 07

   Step 7REST PROPERLY

   Transfer the chops to the clean tray and rest for 5 minutes, loosely covered with foil. For whole pork chops, reaching 63°C followed by at least a 3-minute rest is important; give them the full 5 minutes here. Don't wrap tightly or you'll steam that lovely crust.

8. 08

   Step 8PILE IT UP

   Drain the carrot pickle. Serve the chops with hot jasmine rice, cucumber and coriander, then spoon over a little nước chấm. Put the rest on the table for extra dunking and drizzling. Sticky pork, sharp pickle, crunchy cucumber. That's the lot.