Name: Taiwanese Pork Chops
Ingredients: 4 (3/4 inch) thick bone-in pork chops; 2 tablespoons soy sauce; 1 tablespoon minced garlic; 1 tablespoon sugar; 1/2 tablespoon white wine; 1/2 tablespoon Chinese five-spice powder; vegetable oil; vegetable oil for frying; cornstarch

Why it works: Garlic and white wine are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 11% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 3,044 recipes. Both carry linalool, which smells floral, citrus. The science ↓

Taiwanese Pork Chops

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare

Make several small slits near the edges of the pork chops to keep them from curling when fried.
Add the soy sauce, garlic, sugar, white wine, and five-spice powder to a large resealable plastic bag, place the chops in, seal tightly, massage the mixture into the chops, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, turning the bag occasionally.

Fry

Heat enough vegetable oil in a large skillet to fill it to a depth of about 1/2 inch.
Remove the chops from the bag without wiping off the marinade, then lightly sprinkle cornstarch on both sides of the chops.
Carefully add the chops to the skillet, cook, turning once, until golden brown on both sides and cooked through.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

903Calories

41 gProtein

29 gFat

110 gCarbs

What these numbers assume: 7 portions

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Flour	1 cup (125g) all-purpose	455
Pork	100g cooked	242
Olive Oil	1 tbsp (14g)	119
Sugar	1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated	49
Wine	2 tbsp cooking wine (30ml)	25
Soy Sauce	1 tbsp (15ml)	9
Garlic	1 clove (3g)	4

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

Recipe from the Recipes Wiki (Fandom).

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

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.

Garlic + white winetop 11% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together3,044 recipes

Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).
Pork + garlictop 13% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together7,169 recipes

Shared aroma: 3-ethyl-2,5-dimethylpyrazine (roasted, nutty).
Sauce + sugartop 13% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together5,147 recipes

Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
Pork + white winetop 16% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together1,544 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Sauce + white winetop 21% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together819 recipes

Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

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

What each ingredient does

Soy sauce: Adds salty, savory flavor and helps the chops brown through its sugars and proteins.
Sugar: Promotes browning and caramelization on the chop surface, adding light sweetness.
Cornstarch: Forms a thin, crisp, golden coating that helps the surface fry evenly.
Garlic: Contributes pungent aroma that mellows and deepens during marinating and frying.
Five-spice powder: Adds warm, aromatic flavor that penetrates the meat during marinating.
White wine: Its mild acidity helps tenderize the meat and carries the marinade aromas into it.

The step that matters

Frying the chops until golden and cooked through. Cornstarch and sugar brown quickly, so the surface can darken before the thick bone-in chop cooks through. Turning only once and keeping the oil at a steady heat helps the crust form evenly without burning.

Swap the garlic

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (pork, sauce, sugar, white wine):

Gingerfits about as well
Garlicthe original
Thymefits about as well
Marjoramfits about as well

Fit is the average pairing score against pork, sauce, sugar, white wine. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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Taiwanese Pork Chops