Pork and Cabbage Stuffed Pork Chops

The last time I made gyoza I had a bit of filling left over and I froze it. The plan was to use it for more gyoza; these boneless centre cut pork chops changed my mind. I decided to use the filling as a stuffing for the pork chops...why not? It is a simple filling of ground pork, shredded cabbage, carrots and green onions, some garlic and ginger and a splash of soy sauce.

I used the very last of the sweet chili sauce and the only lime in the house to make a pan sauce once the pork chops were cooked.

I defrosted the frozen filling and gently pressed some of the excess liquid out of it...this often happens with frozen vegetables, and most of the liquid was probably coming from the cabbage.

Trim the excess fat from the pork chops. Using a sharp knife cut a slit in one side of each chop, carefully extending the cut to form a pocket.

Stuff each pocket with the gyoza filling.

Season both sides of the stuffed pork chops with salt, black pepper and Chinese five spice.

In a very hot pan, using a bit of olive oil, sear both sides of the pork chops, turning once the first side is golden.

 Add:

2 tablespoons sweet chili sauce
Juice of 1 lime
2 cloves of garlic, sliced

Turn the heat down and cover, cooking until the pork is done.

Remove the pork chops from the pan and allow to rest in a warm place while you finish the sauce.

Turn the heat up and reduce the sauce until it is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. This shouldn't take more than a couple of minutes.

If you want more sauce, add more chili sauce or lime juice.

Add the juices from the resting pork, taste and adjust seasoning.




I served the pork chops on a bed of brown basmati rice, and stir fried red and yellow peppers, along with garlic broccoli. The sauce was spooned over the pork chops and rice.

• As I mentioned, the gyoza filling is simple. The cabbage is shredded and cooked for about 5 minutes, then cooled and squeezed to remove any excess liquid. Add shredded carrots, finely chopped green onions, minced fresh garlic and ginger and ground pork. Season with soy sauce. Cook a small portion to check the seasoning before using the rest of the pork mixture to make gyoza, or these pork chops.
• Not everyone makes gyoza from scratch so I have some other suggestions for stuffing pork chops: finely chopped onion, minced garlic, chopped cooked spinach, ground pork, seasoned with salt, pepper, chopped fresh herbs; stale bread or cornbread, crumbled and soaked in just enough apple juice to moisten it, grated apple, roasted garlic, seasoned with salt, pepper and chopped fresh sage; chopped prosciutto, goat cheese, minced sundried tomatoes, seasoned with salt, pepper and chopped fresh basil; chorizo sausage meat removed from the casing, minced onion and roasted red peppers.
• The pork chops can be left whole, without stuffing. Season the outside with salt, pepper and Chinese five spice and sear both sides. Add sweet chili sauce and lime juice, or apple juice, and finish cooking. 
• If you don't have Chinese five spice, you can mix your own by combining and grinding star anise, cloves, cinnamon, Sichuan pepper (or cayenne pepper) and fennel seeds. The star anise and fennel give the blend its licorice flavour, and by making your own blend you can control the intensity of this, as well as the amount of heat from the Sichuan pepper. Other spices can be used to season the outside of the pork...crushed fennel seeds, chili flakes or cayenne pepper, smoked paprika, ground cinnamon.
• This stuffing can also be used to stuff pork tenderloin or pork loin  ( as in the post Pear Stuffed Pork Tenderloin with Scalloped Potatoes).
• I had three pork chops, and ended up only feeding two people, so I diced the remaining pork chop and used it to make lunch wraps, with sriracha mayo, romaine lettuce and blue cheese.