A short time ago, I saw a link about this sandwich and clicked on it. It was Anthony Bourdain's pork sandwich on what looked Wonder Bread with a single bite taken out of it. There was a fried pork cutlet hanging out of the bread and visible chili sauce that had been spread on it. That's all it took. I needed to eat that sandwich. I read the ingredient list and had most of the items already. Here's all I can say: Anthony Bourdain's Macau-Style Pork Chop Sandwich is one of the best sandwiches I've ever had in my life. And I've had some sandwiches.
Anthony Bourdain's Macau-Style Pork is a Flavor Bomb
Save a couple of not-so-common ingredients, I had a lot of what I needed to make this pork cutlet delight. Chinese five spice was hard to find believe it or not. I tried my usual cheaper grocery stores with no luck, so then I had to buy the fancy kind that seemed a bit expensive. But you know what? I don't care because now I have enough to last through many, many batches of this incredible pork cutlet sandwich.
The other ingredient I didn't have was black vinegar. I never heard of this in my life and am now in possession of a bottle of it. Turns out, they sell it at my favorite Asian market. It was there the whole time, just waiting for me to find a use for it. In case you haven't noticed, I get excited about food. And I get really excited about new ingredients. As soon as I returned from the market, I opened the black vinegar and sipped a small spoonful. I was very surprised at the slight licorice taste to it, but I knew immediately it was going to be a flavor bomb when paired with the Chinese five spice and the other ingredients on the list.
Macau-Style Pork Sandwich is worth the wait
The only annoying thing about this sandwich is the wait time while the pork marinates. The marinade smelled so good I wanted to drink it. Let's start there. When a marinade smells like something I want to put in a glass and chug, I get even more excited about food. This sandwich is relatively easy and low maintenance to put together. You'll want to get a few of these ingredients at your local Asian market. Namely, the black vinegar, Chinese cooking wine and Chinese Five Spice. I've seen the five-spice at my grocery store many times, but they were out of the cheaper brand when I shopped for this. Had to buy the $8 brand.
Breaking down the steps to Anthony Bourdain's Macau Pork Sandwich
This is such an incredibly delicious sandwich, and you will not be disappointed. Also worth noting - this is pretty cheap to make. The recipe calls for boneless pork rib chops or cutlets, which they didn't have when I went shopping. I talked to the butcher (please don't be afraid to do this) and he pointed me to a small center cut pork roast they had on hand. I specifically told him I was making Anthony Bourdain's Macau-Style Pork Chop Sandwich and the pork I needed, and he said this was the best choice. He sliced it out back for me and I had enough for this batch of sandwiches, and I froze half for the next time. Total cost was: $8.82. So the pork portion of this sandwich was just $4.41 for eight sandwiches!
Getting the pork was an important first step, the rest of the ingredients were easy enough. Then just make the very easy marinade, pound the pork and let it marinate for a while, make a breading station, fry the pork in peanut oil and toast some plain white sandwich bread. That spicy chili sauce on top of the cutlet adds a great punch of spice and the pork is off-the-hook!
I highly recommend you give this one a try. Everyone I fed with this was thrilled and LOVED IT! I am already excited to make another batch of these sandwiches.
On the Hunt for More Awesome Sandwiches? These Should Keep You Busy:
- Korean Bulgogi Sandwich w/Spicy Cucumbers & Cheddar
- Cheesy Sausage & Broccoli Rabe Sub
- Croque Monsieur (aka the Best Ham & Cheese Sandwich You'll Ever Eat)
- Crispy Pork Schnitzel Sandwich w/Pickled Red Onions & Savory Caper Spread
- Fried Green Tomatillo Sandwich w/Bacon, Microgreens & Dill Sour Cream
- Grilled Chicken with Romesco, Dill Havarti & Arugula
- French Onion Grilled Cheese w/Bacon
- Crunchy, Cheesy Patty Melts on Sourdough
Anthony Bourdain's Macau-Style Pork Chop Sandwich
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 8 sandwiches 1x
Description
Anthony Bourdain’s Macau-style pork chop sandwich is spicy, crunchy and seriously one of the best sandwiches I’ve ever had in my life. It.Is.Money.
Ingredients
- 8 boneless pork rib chops or cutlets (3-6 ounces each-see note)
- 2 cups of peanut oil (double that if using 2 pans)
- 16 slices of white sandwich bread
- Chili paste/sauce for sandwich topping
Marinade:
- 4 garlic cloves, peeled and rough chopped
- ¼ cup soy sauce (I used low sodium)
- ¼ cup Chinese cooking wine
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- ¼ cup black vinegar
- 1 tablespoon Chinese five spice
- 1 tablespoon dark brown sugar (regular fine too)
Dredging station:
- 3 large eggs, beaten with a splash of water
- 1 cup flour
- 3 cups panko bread crumbs
- Salt and pepper to taste (approx. ¼ teaspoon each in the flour)
NOTE ABOUT RECIPE: Original recipe called for 6-ounce cutlets, but mine were already sliced and I weighed them: 3 ounces each and I thought that made a great cutlet for this sandwich. If yours are 3 ounces like mine you could double-up the cutlets per sandwich, but I found 3 ounces was enough.
COOK AND PREP TIMES DO NOT INCLUDE THE MARINADE TIME.
Instructions
- Make the marinade by adding the following ingredients in a large bowl: rough chopped garlic, soy sauce, Chinese cooking wine, sesame oil, black vinegar, Chinese five spice, sugar. Whisk together until well combined and set aside.
- Cover your pork cutlets with plastic wrap and pound to ¼” thickness. Use a mallet for this. If you don’t have one, use a rolling pin or pan.
- Add your cutlets to the marinade bowl and make sure they are all covered in the marinade. Cover bowl with plastic wrap. You could also use a Ziplock bag for this. Marinate for 1 to 12 hours. I marinated mine for 4 ½ hours.
- When the pork is ready, wipe the garlic chunks from the cutlets before breading and frying. This is important. Fried garlic will burn and ruin the flavor.
- Set up three shallow bowls for your breading station with the beaten eggs in one, flour-salt-pepper in another, and panko breadcrumbs in the third.
- Heat your peanut oil on medium-high while you bread the cutlets. Test the oil with a pinch of breadcrumbs or a flick of egg – if it sizzles it’s ready.
- Bread all the cutlets: First coat with flour on both sides, then dip in egg to cover completely, then panko breadcrumbs on both sides. Do this for all the cutlets.
- When the oil is ready, carefully place the cutlets in the pan and cook about 4-5 minutes on each side – until golden brown.
- Transfer cooked cutlets to a paper towel-lined sheet pan.
- Toast your bread and assemble your sandwiches. Spread your favorite spicy chili paste/sauce on top of the cutlet.
Leave a Comment