I came across this old class photograph from my kindergarten class in Hong Kong today. That’s me in the front row, second from the right. I was about four years old I think. Memories of those early school days play in my head like a Netflix trailer–snippets of highlights that offer me a glimpse into a vaguely familiar story. I do remember that uniform though, pressed white cotton dress with a maple leaf gold pin on the lapel (school insignia?). I have a vivid memory of throwing down with a snotty classmate who tried to bully me, yanking off my pin and brandishing the pointy edges to defend myself like badass pixie-cut ninja in bobby socks and white shoes–not a fantasy as my aunt Anna can attest. She might’ve actually spoken to my teacher about the “altercation.” Oh yeah, it was rough at St. Clare’s. They even assigned us homework for chrissakes–an hour every night copying pages of Chinese characters! Kindergarten in the U.S. was a virtual cakewalk…except for the part where I didn’t read or speak English.

It didn’t take long for me to adjust to my new normal. Children at that age usually have a much easier time adapting to foreign surroundings. Within a few months I was speaking English, though my understanding of the written language lagged behind for another year. A steady diet of cartoons, Sesame Street, and American sit-coms nourished my conversational English, but watching the Brady Bunch and Bewitched did little to improve my reading and comprehension.

For my parents, however, breaching the cultural divide, communicating in a foreign language, and adjusting to a different lifestyle was challenging and no doubt frustrating. They both abandoned their previous professions in Hong Kong–Dad was a dentist, Mom a primary school teacher–to start over in the U.S., taking lower paying jobs to make ends meet.

Like many middle class families in Hong Kong, we had domestic help. Here, Mom was completely on her own. Mom always says Grandma had it easy because she never really had to raise her children, not with servants around to do the heavy lifting. I don’t dispute that. Even when Grandma emigrated to the U.S. and had to learn to do everything herself, she had the benefit of having only her husband to contend with for the most part. Grandma had plenty of time to experiment in the kitchen. Mom, on the other hand, did not.

Feeding two growing teenage boys and finicky a five year old daughter–it took me a while to accept “American” food–Mom had her hands full. Packing school lunches was a particular nightmare, so Mom opted to give me money for the school cafeteria, which didn’t always sit well with me. Looking back on it now, I think my disparaging attitude towards the cafeteria food derived from my early Hong Kong “foodie” upbringing. I was used to complex savory flavors like preserved duck eggs, Chinese sausage, salted fish and bright, flavorful stir-fry greens. Those waterlogged, overcooked khaki green beans, bland mashed potatoes, and grayish, mushy Salisbury steak just weren’t going to cut it for me.

On the weekends, Mom would find time to flex her culinary muscles and try out new recipes. The “American” dishes were often hit or miss, depending on how closely she followed the recipes in Good Housekeeping or Sunset Magazine. She fared better with the homestyle Chinese classics like steamed whole fish and stir-fried beef and Chinese broccoli. School nights were a different story. More often than not, Mom would serve up filling Hong Kong-style rice plates like minced pork and cream corn over rice or minced beef and tomato over rice, or one of our all-time favorites baked pork chop and rice. Only recently did I discover that the “authentic” Hong Kong version of this dish is topped with a layer of molten melted cheese. For whatever reason, Mom’s version never had cheese.

Once in a while, Mom would change it up and make baked pork chops with spaghetti, which I liked much better. I loved how the spaghetti along the edges of the baking dish would crisp up, the sweetness of the oven-dried tomato sauce intensified. Plus, it was nice change from rice. The sauce itself was a mixture of fresh tomato, tomato sauce, ketchup, soy sauce, and Worcestershire sauce. Sometimes Mom would add mushrooms, other times frozen peas, but always sautéed onions.

Unearthing that old class picture and family photo brought back memories of those school night suppers…and had me craving Hong Kong Style Baked Pork Chop and Spaghetti. I didn’t really need a recipe to recreate this dish, just sense memory, one large pork shoulder blade chop, dry spaghetti, and a few pantry items.

I first marinated the pork chop for several hours in the mixture of minced garlic, ginger, and onion, both light and dark soy sauce, rice wine, black pepper, sugar, sesame oil, and Worcestershire sauce. Before I pan-fried the marinated pork chop, I let the meat sit out at room temperature for about 30 mins. to take the chill off. I then removed the bits of garlic, ginger and onions, dipped the pork chop in some beaten egg and coated it in panko bread crumbs. I think Mom used to just dredge her pork chops in a mixture of flour and cornstarch, but I like the crunchy texture of the panko. I pan-fried the pork chop in a good amount of vegetable oil to get a nice crispy golden crust, about 4 mins. on each side. Meanwhile, I set a pot of water to boil for the spaghetti, which I cooked to just al dente.

• 

• 

• 

• 

Once the pork chop was cooked and the spaghetti drained, I made the sauce by sautéing some halved cherry tomatoes and chopped scallions, adding in some chicken stock, tomato paste, ketchup, soy, and Worcestershire, tossing in some frozen peas at the end. I laid the pork chop over a bed of spaghetti in a small baking dish and ladled on the sauce to cover the entire surface, then popped the dish into a preheated 375F degree oven to bake for 35 mins. Although I did have some shredded mozzarella in the fridge, I decided to forgo cheese this time. My belly did not need more lactose.

• 

• 

• 

• 

The pork chop was big enough for two meals, though I only had enough spaghetti for one. No matter, I can always slice up the leftover pork chop and stuff it in a sandwich roll for lunch. Toast it up with some melted cheese and I’ve got myself a new Hong Kong-style sandwich…something my five year old self would’ve love.

Like I said, I winged the dish this time, using what I had on hand. If I’d planned better, I would’ve bought more onions and some button mushrooms. I used one big 1″ thick bone-in pork chop but if you prefer to smaller thicker boneless chops, just make sure you pound out the meat first. I liked the pork shoulder chop because there was a bit more marbling, which helped keep the meat juicy and tender during baking.

Hong Kong Styled Bake Pork Chop and Spaghetti

Yield: 2 servings

• 1 large bone-in pork shoulder chop (about 12 oz.)
• 1 medium yellow onion
• 2 cloves garlic, peeled & minced
• 1 T. grated or finely minced peeled fresh ginger
• 1 T. rice wine
• 1 T. dark soy sauce
• 2 T. light soy sauce, divided
• 2 T. Worcestershire sauce, divided
• 1 t. sugar
• 1/4 t. sea salt
• 1/2 t. sesame oil
• 1/4 t. white pepper
• 1 large egg, beaten
• 1 c. panko bread crumbs
• 8 oz. dried spaghetti or linguine
• 1 c. cherry tomatoes (1/2’d) or 2 roma tomatoes chopped
• 8 button mushrooms, sliced
• 1/4 c. ketchup
• 2 T. tomato paste
• 1/2 c. chicken broth
• 2/3 c. frozen peas
• 1 scallion (green part), chopped
• vegetable oil for frying

1. Chop about 1/4 onion to use for the marinade. Slice the remainder and set it aside to use later for the sauce.
2. Combine the chopped onion, garlic, ginger, dark soy, 1 T. light soy, 1 T. Worcestershire, sugar, salt, white pepper, and sesame oil in a shallow container. Thoroughly coat pork chop in the mixture, then cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours. Let the pork chop sit out at room temperature for about 30 mins. before cooking.
3. Scrape off all the bits of onion, garlic and ginger from pork chop, dip it in beaten egg to coat on both sides, then coat completely in panko.
4. Pan-fry the pork chop on medium heat in about 1/4″ vegetable oil. Fry each side for approximately 4 mins. on each. Length of time depends on thickness of chop.
5. While the pork chop is cooking, start cooking the spaghetti in well-salted water to al dente.
6. Set aside the cooked pork chop on a cooling rack and drain the spaghetti.
7. Drain off the debris and most of the frying oil from the pan, leaving just enough to sauté the vegetables.
8. Sauté the onions until just translucent, then add the mushrooms, season with a little salt, and continue sautéing for another couple of minutes.
9. Add the tomatoes and sauté until tomatoes begin to soften and release some juice. Add the tomato paste, chicken stock, ketchup, and remaining soy and Worcestershire to create sauce. Toss in frozen peas.
10. Transfer the drained spaghetti into a greased baking dish, ladle on a little of the sauce, then top the bed of pasta with pork chop and the rest of the sauce and vegetables.
11. Bake in a preheated 375F degree oven for approximately 35 mins. Garnish with chopped scallion.