Name: Vietnamese Pork Chops
Yield: Makes 4 servings
Ingredients: 1 small shallot, finely chopped; 1/3 cup (packed) light brown sugar; 1/4 cup fish sauce (such as nam pla or nuoc nam); 2 tablespoons unseasoned rice vinegar; 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper; 4 1" thick-cut bone-in pork chops (about 2 1/2 pounds total); 1 tablespoon vegetable oil; Kosher salt; Lime halves (for serving)

Why it works: Pepper and lime match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 3,491 recipes. Both carry beta-phellandrene, which smells minty, terpene. The science ↓

Vietnamese Pork Chops

Makes 4 servings

Ingredients

1 small shallot, finely chopped
1/3 cup (packed) light brown sugar
1/4 cup fish sauce (such as nam pla or nuoc nam)
2 tablespoons unseasoned rice vinegar
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
4 1" thick-cut bone-in pork chops (about 2 1/2 pounds total)
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
Kosher salt
Lime halves (for serving)

Directions

Step-by-step directions aren't available for this recipe. See the full recipe at the source →

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

446Calories

29 gProtein

28 gFat

21 gCarbs

What these numbers assume: 9 portions

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Pork	100g cooked	242
Olive Oil	1 tbsp (14g)	119
Sugar	1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated	49
Lime	juice of 1 lime (44ml)	11
Soy Sauce	1 tbsp (15ml)	9
Shallot	1 tbsp minced (10g)	7
Black Pepper	1 tsp ground (2.3g)	6
Vinegar	1 tbsp (15ml) distilled	3
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

By epicurious. Recipe from Open Recipes.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

Pepper + limetop 2% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together3,491 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
Shallot + limetop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together258 recipes

Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
Rice + limetop 9% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together1,014 recipes

Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
Shallot + ricetop 9% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together284 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
Rice + porktop 11% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together2,137 recipes

Shared aroma: (e,e)-2,4-decadienal (fatty, deep fried).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

Swap the shallot

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, fish sauce, rice, vinegar, pepper, pork, lime):

Capsicumfits better
Cucumberfits about as well
Mustardfits about as well
Shallotthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, fish sauce, rice, vinegar, pepper, pork, lime. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

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