Honey garlic pork chops are one of those dinners that feel a little special but are still easy enough to make at home on a busy day.

My version has a Korean-style twist. The sauce is sweet and savory with plenty of garlic, honey, soy sauce, sesame oil, and a little vinegar to balance everything out. I also use Korean pear drink, which adds sweetness while helping the pork stay tender and juicy.

I like serving these pork chops with warm rice and a simple vegetable side. The sauce is especially good spooned over rice, so I usually make enough to have plenty left in the pan.

Another thing I like about this recipe is that the same sauce works well with pork ribs. The flavors are similar to the sweet and savory sauce often used for Korean-style grilled pork ribs, so I’ll explain how you can use that variation too.

Bone-In or Boneless Pork Chops?

You can make this recipe with either bone-in or boneless pork chops.

Personally, I prefer bone-in pork chops when I have the choice. I find that the meat tends to stay juicier and has a little more flavor and a better texture. Bone-in chops may need an extra 2–3 minutes of cooking, depending on their thickness, but I think the result is worth it.

Boneless pork chops work perfectly well too, especially when you want something quicker and easier to cut into smaller pieces.

If you use boneless pork chops and want them to stay especially tender, the pear drink in this recipe is helpful. If you don’t have pear drink, you can use a combination of grated onion and apple juice instead. It adds moisture and a mild natural sweetness that works beautifully with pork.

Ingredients

For the Pork

• 600 g (about 1.3 lb) pork chops
• Salt, to taste
• Black pepper, to taste
• 2 tablespoons red wine or cooking wine
• A little dried basil, optional
• 1 green onion, finely chopped
• 3 tablespoons finely chopped bell pepper
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped onion
• 2 tablespoons butter

For the Honey Garlic Sauce

• 3 tablespoons minced garlic
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 3 tablespoons honey
• 2 tablespoons Korean tuna fish sauce (chamchi-aek)
• 5 tablespoons Korean soy sauce (jin-ganjang)
• 3 tablespoons sesame oil
• 1 tablespoon vinegar
• 1 can (238 ml / about 8 oz) Korean pear drink
• 1/3 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 tablespoon sesame seeds

How to Make Korean-Style Honey Garlic Pork Chops

1. Prepare the pork

You can prepare the pork in two different ways.

For an everyday family dinner, I often cut the pork into comfortable bite-size pieces before cooking. It makes the pork easy to serve with rice and easy for everyone to eat.

If I’m making this for guests, I prefer leaving the pork chops in larger pieces, about 4–5 cm (roughly 1½–2 inches), so they can be sliced with a knife at the table. It makes the dish look a little more special without making the recipe any harder.

Season the pork lightly with salt and pepper. Add the red wine or cooking wine and a little dried basil, if using.

Let the pork marinate for about 20 minutes.

If you don’t have time to marinate it, that’s okay. You can simply add the red wine or cooking wine to the sauce later and let it simmer with the pork.

2. Make the honey garlic sauce

In a bowl, combine the sugar, honey, Korean tuna fish sauce, soy sauce, sesame oil, vinegar, pear drink, 1/3 teaspoon black pepper, and sesame seeds.

Stir until everything is well combined.

Add the finely chopped green onion, bell pepper, and onion to the sauce and mix again.

The pear drink gives the sauce a gentle fruity sweetness and also helps make the pork more tender. If you can’t find Korean pear drink, try using some grated onion with apple juice instead.

3. Cook the garlic and pork

Heat a large skillet over medium heat and melt the butter.

Add the minced garlic and cook gently until it becomes fragrant. Be careful not to let the garlic burn.

Add the pork chops and cook until they begin to brown.

If your pork chops are thick, you can cover the skillet for part of the cooking time. I find this helps the center cook more evenly without having to overcook the outside.

Bone-in pork chops may take a few minutes longer than boneless chops.

For food safety, the USDA recommends cooking pork chops to a minimum internal temperature of 145°F (62.8°C), followed by a three-minute rest.

4. Add the sauce

When the pork is about halfway cooked, pour the prepared honey garlic sauce into the skillet.

Reduce the heat to medium-low and let the pork simmer gently in the sauce.

As it cooks, the sauce will reduce slightly and begin coating the pork. Turn the pork occasionally so both sides can absorb the sauce.

You don’t need to reduce the sauce until it becomes extremely thick. I like leaving enough sauce in the pan to spoon over the pork and rice.

Cook until the pork is fully cooked through. For food safety, whole pork chops should reach an internal temperature of 145°F (63°C), followed by a short rest before serving.

5. Serve

Transfer the pork chops to a serving plate and spoon some of the warm honey garlic sauce over the top.

Serve with steamed rice and your favorite vegetables.

The sauce is sweet, garlicky, savory, and slightly tangy, so plain rice is one of my favorite things to serve alongside it.

Can I Make This With Pork Ribs?

Yes. This is one of my favorite things about this sauce.

The honey-garlic sauce has flavors that are similar to a Korean-style sweet and savory pork rib marinade, so you can use pork ribs instead of pork chops.

The main difference will be the cooking time. Pork ribs need much longer cooking than pork chops to become tender, so don’t simply follow the pork-chop cooking time.

You can marinate the ribs in the sauce and then bake or slowly cook them until tender, finishing them with additional sauce toward the end.

So if your family enjoys the flavor of this recipe, the sauce can become a useful base for another dinner rather than being limited to pork chops.

Tips for Juicy Pork Chops

Choose bone-in when possible. I prefer bone-in pork chops because I find they stay juicy and flavorful, although they usually need a few extra minutes to cook.

Don’t skip the pear drink if you can find it. It adds a mild sweetness and works especially well when you’re using boneless pork.

No pear drink? Try grated onion mixed with apple juice. It gives the pork moisture and sweetness without changing the overall flavor too much.

Don’t cook the garlic too quickly. Garlic can burn easily, so let it become fragrant before adding the pork.

Keep some sauce in the pan. Instead of reducing every drop into a thick glaze, I like having a little extra sauce for rice.

If your’re looking for another quick weeknight dinner, try my Easy Yaki Udon recipe.

Final Thoughts

These Korean-style honey garlic pork chops are one of those meals that give you a lot of flavor without requiring complicated ingredients or techniques.

The combination of honey, garlic, soy sauce, sesame oil, pear, and vegetables makes a sweet and savory sauce that works especially well with pork. You can use bone-in or boneless pork chops depending on what you have, and the same flavor combination can even be adapted for pork ribs.

For our family, it’s the kind of dinner that’s easy enough for an ordinary weeknight but still feels special enough to serve when we have guests.

And whenever there’s extra sauce left in the pan, don’t waste it — it’s especially good over warm rice.