Korean Pork Chops
on Aug 16, 2020, Updated Jun 22, 2025
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These Korean pork chops are juicy, flavorful, and packed with bold, savory-sweet flavors thanks to a delicious marinade of soy sauce, garlic, ginger, sesame oil, honey, and gochujang sauce.
Pork chops become tender and juicy with a soak in a Korean-inspired marinade containing toasted sesame oil, soy sauce, garlic, ginger, plus a bit of sweetness from honey and a bit of heat from gochujang paste. The marinade takes 5 minutes to pull together, and after marinating for a short while, the pork chops take about 10 minutes to cook on the stovetop. You simmer the marinade to reduce it and create a crave-worthy Korean-BBQ style glaze.
Serve this Korean-style pork chop recipe atop Cilantro Lime Rice or Kimchi Fried Rice with a side of Kimchi Brussels Sprouts or Korean Mushrooms for an irresistible meal.
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“This recipe is a keeper, bursting with flavor! I opted to cook mine in an All Clad stainless pan, came out great. Delicious!” – Karen
What's In This Post?
Korean Pork Chops: A beautiful glaze made with soy sauce, honey, garlic, ginger, sesame oil, and gochujang turns pork chops into a fabulous dinner.
Gochujang Paste
The heat in this pork chop recipe comes from a traditional Korean ingredient and one that’s become very readily available: gochujang sauce. Gochujang is a classic Korean hot paste, traditionally made with chili peppers, fermented soybeans, brown sugar glutinous rice, and salt. If you don’t have gochujang, you can use sriracha instead.
How to Cook Korean Pork Chops
- Make the sauce: Combine the soy sauce, honey, garlic, sesame oil, ginger, and gochujang paste or Sriracha sauce.
- Marinate the pork in the fridge for at least 2 hours.
- Cook the pork: The pork chops should take about 5 minutes per side. According to the UDSA, pork chops should be cooked to an internal temperature of 145 degrees. Meanwhile, pour the remaining marinade into the pan and bring to a simmer.
- Serve the pork chops with rice or mashed potatoes, spooning over a bit of the sauce from the pan.
Korean Pork Chop Cooking Tips
- If you have thinner pork chops, reduce the cooking time. You really want to make sure that they don’t overcook. Anyone who’s ever eaten an overcooked pork chop, which is most people who’ve ever eaten a pork chop, knows why.
- While you do not need to brine your pork chops before cooking them, if you have time, this will ensure that the results are tender and juicy.
- There is one other thing that, in good conscience, I must mention. Whoever has to clean the pan may have a bit of scrubbing to do. It would be less work with a nonstick pan, but you get such a great crust with a cast iron or heavy metal pan that I think it’s a sacrifice worth making.
- Sprinkling some sliced scallions or green onions on top of the cooked pork chops would add nice color and flavor. Same with some toasted sesame seeds.
What to Serve With Korean Pork Chops
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Korean Pork Chops
Ingredients
- 4 (1 1/2-inch thick) boneless pork chops (2 to 2 1/2 pounds total)
- ½ cup less-sodium soy sauce
- 3 tablespoons honey
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
- 2 teaspoons Gochujang paste (or Sriracha sauce)
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- Hot cooked rice (or mashed potatoes; to serve)
Instructions
- In a medium-sized bowl, combine the soy sauce, honey, garlic, sesame oil, ginger, and gochujang paste or Sriracha sauce. Place the pork chops in a shallow dish or container and pour the marinade over the pork chops. Turn to coat well and marinate in the fridge for at least 2 hours and up to overnight.
- Heat the olive oil in a large, heavy skillet (such as cast iron) over medium-high heat. Remove the pork chops from the marinade, reserving the marinade, and place them in the pan. Cook for about 5 minutes until the bottom is browned with a nice crust, then turn the pork chops and cook for another 5 minutes, until the bottom is also nicely browned, but the chops are still a bit pink inside. Pour the remaining marinade into the pan and bring to a simmer, cooking until the chops are just cooked, with an internal temperature of 145 F (use an instant-read thermometer).
- Serve the pork chops, whole or sliced, with the rice or mashed potatoes, spooning over a bit of the sauce from the pan.
This recipe is a keeper, bursting with flavor! I opted to cook mine in an All Clad stainless pan, came out great. Delicious!
SOOOO good!! I marinated the pork chops then ended up freezing them because I got called out of town. DELICIOUS!!! However, one thing I had a problem with was getting the “crust” on the pork chops. At medium-high. I couldn’t get a crust without overcooking the chops. Next time, I will sear the chops on high, then add the marinade. I didn’t ever remove the chops; I added the marinade as soon as the chops looked close to being done. The marinade reduced quickly, and then I served it. DELISH!!! Thank you for an awesome recipe!!!
Sounds delicious. We love all these flavors. We keep a container of gochuchang in our fridge all the time and use it for bulgogi, mandoo dipping sauce and pork bulgogi (there’s a Korean name for it but I don’t know it).
I know, that sauce/paste is a game changer!
looks so good. Would you be just as happy with grilling them outside?
absolutely but keep a close eye on them and don’t let the flames get too high – the sugar will burn quickly.