Pork Chop Fried Rice
September 5, 2026
Pork chops on Thursday, but absolutely nobody has to sit down to another pork chop with two sides. We call that range.
The pork chop has an image problem, and it isn’t the chop’s fault. It’s the plating. Chop, starch, vegetable, in three separate zones, week after week, until the whole family can predict Thursday from the smell.
Fried rice fixes that by turning the chop into an ingredient instead of a centerpiece. It also handles the one thing every household has and nobody plans for, which is a container of leftover rice going hard in the back of the fridge. Cold, dried-out rice is not a compromise here. It’s the requirement. Fresh rice is too wet and it turns to paste in the pan.
The two things worth deciding before you shop are what thickness of chop to buy and which chop to buy. They’re different questions and most people never get asked either one.
Get Them Thin
Almost everything you read about pork chops pushes you toward thick. Inch-and-a-half, double-cut, French the bone, sear and finish in the oven. That’s good advice when the chop is the star and you want a crust on the outside and blush in the middle.
It’s the wrong advice here, and it’s an expensive mistake.
You’re going to dice these chops into bite-sized pieces and cook them hard in a hot skillet. Every dimension of a thick chop is about to be destroyed by a knife. A 1½-inch center-cut chop costs real money for a thickness you’re about to throw away, and the extra mass just means longer knife work before you can start cooking.
Half an inch is the number. A ½-inch chop dices fast, cooks through in about four minutes, and browns properly because the pieces are small enough that a lot of surface hits the pan.
Pork Chop Fried Rice
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 20 minutes
Serves: 4
You’ll Need
- 4–5 Lil Butcher Shoppe Pork Chops
- 3 cups cooked and cooled white rice
- 1 bag frozen peas and carrots
- 3 eggs
- 3 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1 tablespoon butter
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger, optional
- 2 green onions, sliced, optional
- Salt and black pepper
Let’s Cook
Cut the pork chops into small bite-sized pieces.
Season lightly with garlic powder, salt and black pepper.
Heat the vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.
Add the pork and cook until browned and cooked through. Pork should reach 145°F, followed by at least a three-minute rest.
Remove the pork from the skillet and set aside.
Add the peas and carrots to the same skillet and cook until heated through.
Push them to one side.
Add the butter to the empty side of the skillet, crack in the eggs and scramble until just cooked.
Add the cold rice and toss everything together.
Pour in the soy sauce and add the ground ginger if using.
Return the pork to the skillet.
Cook for another few minutes, stirring frequently, until everything is hot and some of the rice starts getting crispy around the edges.
Top with green onions if desired.
Pork chops on Thursday, but absolutely nobody has to sit down to another pork chop with two sides. We call that range.
What Else Is at the Pork Counter
Fresh local pork, cut here. Also pork shoulder and Boston butt, pork roasts, ribs, and our own stuffed pork chops from the homemade case.
The fresh sausage counter has Italian sausage, chorizo, pan sausage, bratwurst, red hots and boudin. The smoked sausage side has ten flavors, including original pork and jalapeño and cheddar. Full lineup on the Butcher Shoppe page.
Tips from Behind the Counter
Your rice is better if it’s cold and at least a day old. Warm rice steams and clumps. If you’re starting from scratch, cook the rice in the morning, spread it on a sheet pan and refrigerate it uncovered.
145°F and a three-minute rest. That’s the USDA safe temperature chart number for whole-muscle pork, and it’s lower than most people were taught. Small cubes hit it fast, so check early.
Get the pork out of the pan before you do anything else. It finishes cooking while it rests. If it sits in the skillet through the vegetables, the eggs and the rice, it’s overcooked by the time you serve.
Cook the pork in two batches if your skillet is under twelve inches. Crowded meat releases liquid and boils. You want it loud.
Soy sauce goes on the rice, not on the pork. Salt on raw pork before a hard sear draws moisture to the surface and gets in the way of browning. Season the pork lightly, sauce the rice.
Let the rice sit still for a minute before the last toss. That’s when the bottom layer crisps. Constant stirring makes hot rice; a pause makes fried rice.
Ways to Change It Up
- Use our chorizo or pan sausage instead of chops and skip the extra seasoning entirely.
- Add a tablespoon of oyster sauce with the soy sauce for something deeper and slightly sweet.
- Throw in a spoon of chili crisp at the end.
- Swap the peas and carrots for frozen edamame and diced bell pepper.
- Fry an egg per person and lay it on top instead of scrambling eggs into the rice.
One Stop for Thursday Dinner in Hattiesburg
Family owned and operated in Hattiesburg since 1991. Hours: Monday–Tuesday and Thursday–Saturday, 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Closed Wednesday and Sunday. Phone: 601-261-2765. Address: 1910 Broadway Drive, Hattiesburg, MS 39401. Smoked sausage ships nationwide; also on shelves across Mississippi and the Gulf South.
Want the week’s specials before they’re gone? Text Butcher to 601-281-6633.