Anthony Bourdain's Macau-Style Pork Chop Sandwich
I read, and own, all of Anthony Bourdain's books except Kitchen Confidential. It seems like an odd omission considering it's the book that made him famous and brought to light a dirty side of the restaurant business that the public apparently loved hearing about, but no, for me, it was his first show, A Chef's Tour, followed by No Reservations, that really made me a fan. Yes, the show was about food, but more importantly it was about the people who made the food and the places the food grew out of. That cultural and historical connection has always been the key factor in my own burgeoning food obsession. Bourdain was sarcastic and edgy but he was also intelligent, well-read and so adept at putting words together to unite the food with its people into an appreciative, thoughtfully crafted whole.
His suicide in 2018 saddened me in a way I would never have anticipated. I decided that henceforth I would honor his influence on my culinary interests and every year, on his birthday, I would cook a meal that is either one of his own recipes or one that I associate with him because he loved it so.
Today's dish is from his last book, Appetites: A Cookbook.
Today's cast minus the breading ingredients of egg and flour.
All the marinade ingredients are whisked together in a bowl.
The pork chops I purchased were on the thin side but they needed to be flatter. Unfortunately, they also had bones. I removed the bones with kitchen shears.
To protect the quartz countertop, I laid down a thick padding of newspaper, then covered the newspaper with a double layer of parchment. The chop went onto the padding, then I covered it with another piece of parchment so it wouldn't spatter me with meaty, fatty bits.
The meat mallet has two sides; since I was just flattening and not tenderizing, I used the flat side. I start from the center and work outwards. You want to make sure it's at the same level of flatness so it cooks evenly. The fat on the edges need a slightly firmer touch but you don't need to hammer at this so, be kind.
The recipe called for a 1/8" thickness. Mine were a bit thicker than that.
When all the chops were flattened, I put them in a Ziploc bag and poured the marinade over. I wish I had remembered that the chops were marinated before cooking; I would have made it a bit earlier in the day. Oh well. Into the fridge for about 90 minutes.
I didn't have peanut oil so I used my favorite, avocado oil. I put in a few panko crumbs to test the heat of the oil. They began to bubble immediately.
The chops are breaded in the following order: flour, egg, then the panko. I always add salt and pepper to both the flour and egg. I added a splash of water into the egg, per Bourdain, to loosen it up so it would coat the pork better. I added a little pepper to the panko as well.
I let the excess marinade drain off of the slices before I started breading them. Into the flour.
Press the chops down lightly so they really get coated on both sides.
Then into the egg.
Both sides, too!
Drain off the extra egg.
Into the panko. Press down lightly so the crumbs adhere. I like to use a coarser crumb.
And, flip!
Into all the crevices.
Then slide the chops carefully into the hot oil.
It really doesn't take long--maybe four minutes per side.
Nice and golden brown!
I had baked a French honey loaf in the bread machine. I was worried that it wouldn't stand up to the pork since fresh bread can be so soft.
I shouldn't have worried. Toasted or untoasted, this bread had the perfect texture to stand up to the pork chops. They tasted really good together, too! The chop is basically tonkatsu but the seasoning, especially the Five-Spice powder, is very Chinese. We didn't have chili paste but we did have Thai sweet chili sauce. It was perfect with the pork.
We all really enjoyed this simple, but so tasty dish. It was a great meal.
Thanks, Tony.
His suicide in 2018 saddened me in a way I would never have anticipated. I decided that henceforth I would honor his influence on my culinary interests and every year, on his birthday, I would cook a meal that is either one of his own recipes or one that I associate with him because he loved it so.
Today's dish is from his last book, Appetites: A Cookbook.
Today's cast minus the breading ingredients of egg and flour.
All the marinade ingredients are whisked together in a bowl.
The pork chops I purchased were on the thin side but they needed to be flatter. Unfortunately, they also had bones. I removed the bones with kitchen shears.
To protect the quartz countertop, I laid down a thick padding of newspaper, then covered the newspaper with a double layer of parchment. The chop went onto the padding, then I covered it with another piece of parchment so it wouldn't spatter me with meaty, fatty bits.
The meat mallet has two sides; since I was just flattening and not tenderizing, I used the flat side. I start from the center and work outwards. You want to make sure it's at the same level of flatness so it cooks evenly. The fat on the edges need a slightly firmer touch but you don't need to hammer at this so, be kind.
The recipe called for a 1/8" thickness. Mine were a bit thicker than that.
When all the chops were flattened, I put them in a Ziploc bag and poured the marinade over. I wish I had remembered that the chops were marinated before cooking; I would have made it a bit earlier in the day. Oh well. Into the fridge for about 90 minutes.
I didn't have peanut oil so I used my favorite, avocado oil. I put in a few panko crumbs to test the heat of the oil. They began to bubble immediately.
The chops are breaded in the following order: flour, egg, then the panko. I always add salt and pepper to both the flour and egg. I added a splash of water into the egg, per Bourdain, to loosen it up so it would coat the pork better. I added a little pepper to the panko as well.
I let the excess marinade drain off of the slices before I started breading them. Into the flour.
Press the chops down lightly so they really get coated on both sides.
Lightly shake off the excess flour.
Then into the egg.
Both sides, too!
Drain off the extra egg.
Into the panko. Press down lightly so the crumbs adhere. I like to use a coarser crumb.
And, flip!
Into all the crevices.
Then slide the chops carefully into the hot oil.
It really doesn't take long--maybe four minutes per side.
Nice and golden brown!
I had baked a French honey loaf in the bread machine. I was worried that it wouldn't stand up to the pork since fresh bread can be so soft.
I shouldn't have worried. Toasted or untoasted, this bread had the perfect texture to stand up to the pork chops. They tasted really good together, too! The chop is basically tonkatsu but the seasoning, especially the Five-Spice powder, is very Chinese. We didn't have chili paste but we did have Thai sweet chili sauce. It was perfect with the pork.
We all really enjoyed this simple, but so tasty dish. It was a great meal.
Thanks, Tony.
"Food is everything we are. It's an extension of nationalist feeling, ethnic feeling, your personal history, your province, your region, your tribe, your grandma. It's inseparable from those from the get-go."
~Anthony Bourdain
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