Hong Kong Style Lemongrass Marinade

Got tired of regular barbecue marinade? How about trying something slightly different than the usual with this aromatic lemongrass marinade? Perfect for those warm summer evenings when you are wanting a hint of freshness added to your regular barbecue. 

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Hong Kong Style Lemongrass Marinade  (text recipe) 

- Yield: 500g
- Preparation time: min. 8 hours
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/Ingredients/

• 500g boneless pork loin chop
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 tablespoon lemongrass, finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon garlic, minced
• ½ tablespoon soy sauce
• ½ tablespoon oyster sauce
• 1 tablespoon oil
• 1 tablespoon Chinese wine / white wine

/Directions/

1. Pound the chops with a meat hammer.
2. Mix together all the ingredients. 
3. Transfer the meat to a freezer bag. Squeeze the air out of the bag and tie a tight knot.
4. Refrigerate for at least 8 hours, preferably 24 hours for a more intense flavor. 

adapted from: Bonbon Kitchen

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Lemongrass is not a commonly used ingredient in Chinese cooking but we still use it every now and then, for example in this barbecue marinade, which is mostly with pork chop and chicken wings. This time I've chosen pork loin chops as they are more tender than the regular pork chops which tend to get chewy easily - and no one likes having meat stuck between your teeth. 

Echos Tipp:
Don't forget to use a meat hammer to pound the meat before marinading it, this can loosen the muscle fiber and stops the meat becoming chewy. A rolling pin also would work fine too if you don't have a meat hammer. 

 

The original recipe calls for lemongrass powder. I've tried it but unfortunately I bought  a low quality one, it just tastes very artificial which is not what we want in our home cooking. Therefore, I use fresh lemongrass instead to keep its unique flavor and the freshness we desire for the overall taste of this delicious summer marinade. 

The Chinese wine in this recipe can be substituted by white wine, although the taste will be slightly different, it's not a big problem as it won't diminish the intense lemongrass taste.

You can directly put all the ingredients in a freezer bag to do the following procedure, it's actually much easier. Simple but delicious recipes are always the best, right? Just make sure your freezer bag is large enough to avoid the marinade spilling out, and it has enough space for you to tie a knot after squeezing out the air. 

If you don't want to eat the lemongrass, discard them before putting the meat on the grill. Guten Appetit~!