Anthony Bourdain has been a certified BUST crush for many years, and usually we are content to drool his delicious dishes on TV. But now, he has a new cookbook out, Appetites, that includes recipes that even those of us who are not so skilled in the kitchen can attempt and master. The cookbook contains recipes that Bourdain makes for his family: his wife is a professional martial artist, and they have a nine-year-old daughter.
“Mostly, these recipes are direct lifts from imperfect memories of childhood favorites: things my mom fed me, things I liked or loved to eat during the happier moments of my life — the kind of food memories I like to share with my daughter — along with a few greatest hits from my travels, and some boiled-down wisdom on subjects like breakfasts and Thanksgiving dinner, presented in an organized and tactically efficient, stress-free way,” Bourdain writes in the introduction.
We’re excited to bring you two perfect sandwich recipes — the Bodega Sandwich, and the Macau-Style Pork Chop Sandwich. Try them at home and let us know how they are!
BODEGA SANDWICH
Forget about pastrami: The iconic New York City sandwich is bacon, egg, and cheese on a hard roll — cooked on a griddle and served by someone who addresses you as papi or mami.
The language of New York City in the mornings is Spanish — or more accurately, Spanglish — and even the non-Spanish speakers lined up at the bodega counter usually make an attempt. It’s the last bastion of non-Starbucks breakfast — and maybe the last place in New York where construction workers, doormen, hedge funders, black, white, Asian, and Latin gather in one room, united by a single purpose: the bodega sandwich.
INGREDIENTS
6 slices bacon
2 kaiser rolls, sliced as for a sandwich
4 large eggs
Salt and freshly ground black
pepper to taste
4 slices American or Swiss cheese
SPECIAL EQUIPMENT
Plate lined with newspaper
INSTRUCTIONS
Heat a large, heavy-bottom skillet or cast-iron griddle pan over high heat until hot, then add the bacon and cook until golden brown and crisp, adjusting the temperature if necessary so that it doesn’t get burned. If it burns, start over. (You can also cook your bacon in the oven; see page 12.) Using a spatula or tongs, remove the bacon to the lined plate. Open the kaiser rolls and place them facedown on the griddle for 2 minutes to warm through and absorb some of that bacon grease. Remove them and park 3 slices of bacon inside each roll.
Crack the eggs into a medium mixing bowl, season with salt and pepper, and beat well. You’re not making scrambled eggs here, you’re making a kind of value-neutral omelet, so don’t worry about retaining big curds in the pan. Cook the eggs in the hot bacon grease until cooked through. Top with the cheese, distributed in an even layer, and let cook until slightly melty. Remove the eggs and divide them evenly among the rolls, folding and chopping as necessary. Close the sandwiches, wrap in foil for portability (if necessary), and serve with shitty coffee.
Makes 2 sandwiches
MACAU-STYLE PORK CHOP SANDWICH
This sandwich, loosely inspired by a pork chop bun served to me for television in Macau, is possibly the most delicious thing in the book. We had a hard time shooting it, because everyone in the room kept eating the models.
INGREDIENTS
4 boneless pork rib chops or cutlets (about 6 ounces each)
¼ cup soy sauce
¼ cup Chinese rice wine
¼ cup black vinegar
1 tablespoon sesame oil
4 garlic cloves, peeled and coarsely chopped
1 tablespoon five-spice powder
1 tablespoon dark brown sugar, packed
1 large egg
½ cup all-purpose flour
1½ cups panko bread crumbs
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
2 cups peanut oil, for frying, plus more as needed
8 slices white sandwich bread
Chili paste, for garnish
SPECIAL EQUIPMENT
Meat mallet or heavy-duty rolling pin
Sheet pan or platter lined with newspaper
INSTRUCTIONS
Pound the pork to ¼-inch thickness, using the meat mallet. If using a rolling pin, be sure to wrap the meat in plastic before whacking it (and consider getting yourself a meat mallet).
In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the soy sauce, rice wine, vinegar, sesame oil, garlic, five-spice powder, and sugar. Place the pork in a zip-seal plastic bag or nonreactive container and pour the marinade mixture over, turning the chops to ensure that they’re evenly coated with liquid. Seal the bag and refrigerate for at least 1 hour and up to 12 hours.
Remove the chops from the marinade and brush off the garlic. Beat the egg in a shallow bowl and place the flour and bread crumbs in separate shallow bowls. Season the flour with salt and pepper. You may need to add a tablespoon of water to the beaten egg, to loosen its texture so that it adheres evenly to the meat.
To a large, heavy-bottom frying pan, add the peanut oil and heat over medium-high.
While the oil heats, dredge the chops in the flour, batting off any extra, then in the egg, then in the bread crumbs.
Test the oil with a pinch of bread crumbs. If they immediately sizzle, carefully slide the chops into the hot oil, working in batches if necessary to avoid overcrowding the pan and bringing down the temperature of the oil. Cook for about 5 minutes per side, or until golden brown. Remove the cooked chops from the oil and let drain on the lined sheet pan. Season lightly with salt.
Toast the bread until golden brown.
Assemble the sandwiches and serve with the chili paste alongside.
Serves 4
Recipes from Appetites by Anthony Bourdain. All photos by Bobby Fisher. Text and photos used with permission.
This post was published on October 26, 2016
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