Maple Mustard Pork Chops

All credit for this ridiculously tasty idea goes to my co-host on Bento Expo, Maki Ogawa. If you haven't seen it, Maki, and I show each other how to make a bento, and then we taste each other's bentos on the show. The tasting scenes are usually shot after lunch, so I'll usually only have a few bites while we shoot. I can only think of a handful of times I finished my plate, but this was one of them.

The garlic-infused pork chop is pretty fantastic on its own, but the glaze takes this dish into another realm of tasty. The closest thing I can compare it to is honey mustard, but the maple syrup and whole grain mustard level it up. But I think the soy sauce makes this such a game-changer. Put together with the pork, it tastes like a Japanese version of an excellent BBQ pork chop.