Home cooks love regular-cut pork chops because they’re cheap and quick-cooking. They’re also easy to overcook—the thin cut means they dry out faster, leaving you with tough, chewy meat if you’re not careful.
That’s why we used thick-cut pork chops in this pork steak, or pork bistek: they’re juicier, more tender, and extra flavorful. By thick-cut, we mean chops that are at least an inch thick, like a steak. To prepare them, start by searing the pork chops until golden brown on both sides. Caramelize some white onions, use that as a base for the bistek sauce, then return the pork chops to simmer until medium.
Tips for caramelizing onions
Caramelized onions take patience and technique to get right. If you’ve never done it before, here are some tips to ease you into it.
Slice onions at the right thickness
Aim for about ⅛-inch thick sliced onions. This thickness allows them to cook evenly and caramelize properly without turning mushy or burning too quickly. Paper-thin slices can burn easily and lose their shape; onions that are too thick will take longer to caramelize. Inconsistent slices won’t cook evenly.
A mandoline slicer will give you those perfect sliced onions with speed and consistency. Or do it the old-fashioned way with a sharp knife!
Use a wide pan
A large skillet or sauté pan with a wide surface area gives the onions enough space to cook evenly. You want all of your onions in direct contact with your pan. A narrow pan will cause overcrowding, which will steam the onions instead of caramelizing them.
Don’t rush, stay patient!
Onions need about 40 to 60 minutes to fully caramelize. Keep the heat low to medium-low, allowing the natural sugars in the onions to break down slowly and evenly.
Stir occasionally, but not constantly
You’re not making risotto here. You want the onions to sit against the pan long enough to brown, but not for too long that they burn. Let your onions sit, stir every few minutes, and repeat. Stirring encourages even caramelization and zero onions stuck to the pan.
Deglaze the pan if you have to
But if your onions do start getting stuck, don’t panic. This recipe will have you deglaze the pan at the end with the base for the bistek sauce. But if your onions start sticking early on, simply add a splash of water or stock to lift and release.
Aim for the final color
Once your onions turn a deep golden brown, congratulations—they’re properly caramelized! They should be soft and sweet with an onion-y bite at the end. Any darker and your onions are probably burnt!
Ingredients
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp neutral oil
- 700g boneless thick-cut pork chops, 1- to 1 ½-inch thick
- 3 ½ cups thinly sliced white onions
- 8–10 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 ½ cup pork stock or water, divided
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp brown sugar
- 1 tbsp calamansi juice, more to taste
- 1 tsp ground black pepper
- minced green onions, for garnish
Sear pork chops: Pat pork chops dry with paper towels. Season on both sides with salt and pepper.
Heat oil in a wide skillet or sauté pan over medium heat. Once oil is shimmering, add pork chops and let sear, untouched, until golden brown on one side, about 4 minutes. If the pork chop is stuck to the pan, try giving it a bit more time—it should release from the pan when ready. Flip to sear the second side, another 4 minutes. Remove pork chops from pan and set aside.
Caramelize onions: In the same pan, add onions and garlic. Season with a pinch of salt. Cook, stirring frequently, until softened. Reduce heat to medium-low and continue cooking, stirring every few minutes, until onions have caramelized and turned a deep golden brown, 40–60 minutes.
Make sauce: Deglaze the pan with ½ cup pork stock or water, scraping the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon or sturdy spatula to release all the browned bits. Add remaining pork stock, soy sauce, brown sugar, calamansi juice, and black pepper.
Cook pork chops: Return pork chops to the pan. Increase heat to medium-high to bring to a boil, then once boiling, reduce heat to medium-low to maintain a simmer. Cover pan and simmer until pork chops are cooked through, about 10–15 minutes, basting the pork chops with the sauce every 5 minutes. Transfer pork chops to a serving plate (or a chopping board if you plan to slice before serving).
Taste and adjust sauce with more salt, black pepper, or calamansi juice. For a thicker sauce, continue cooking the sauce, uncovered, until dark and thick, almost like an onion jam. Adjust seasoning then.
Serve: Pour sauce over the pork steaks and top with caramelized onions. Serve with steamed rice.
