Appetites: by Anthony Bourdain
Macau-Style Pork Chop Sandwich
It was an easy decision where I would start my cookbook club adventure. With the original bad boy of cooking, Chef Anthony Bourdain. This cookbook isn’t for you if you don’t like his style. Just like his other books and TV series, this book is filled with curses. The stories he built around his food and his family are touching and heartfelt. The photography is often weird and a little unsettling, but true to his style. He is authentic in both his writing and his cooking which I admire.
Admittedly, there are some recipes in the book I will never make for my family, but there are several that quickly became family favorites; including the Macau-Style Pork Chop Sandwich featured below. A few others I’d like to highlight are the Sunday Gravy with Sausage and Rigatoni (page 123) this is similar to the Sunday gravy that I grew up with, minus the oxtail. I’m pretty sure Dad never included oxtail (I substitute beef short ribs on the bone). The Grill Bitch’s Bar Nuts, if for nothing more than the name and the story check out the recipe on page 112. The nuts are sweet and spicy and the perfect add-on to a charcuterie board. Plus, I have to mention the Bagna Cauda with Crudites (page 100). Dino’s Grandmother made this every year on Christmas Eve, and we’ve continued the tradition since she passed away. I love emotional connections to food.
When a Chef writes “…this is possibly the most delicious thing in the book” well, I’m making the most delicious thing in the book!
If you do any type of Asian cooking, you probably have all the ingredients in your pantry. The first time I made the recipe the only ingredient that I did not have was black vinegar. I substituted balsamic and it turned out great. Since then, this recipe has been making regular appearances in my kitchen, so I did invest in a bottle of black vinegar. There are many options available online, I’ve been using Soeos Chinkiang Vinegar. If you’re lucky enough to have an Asian market near you, I’d recommend checking out their selection. You can also easily substitute another vinegar like I did the first time or increase the amount of rice wine vinegar in the recipe.
You will not be biting into a fresh, crusty baguette with this sandwich. This is plain white sandwich bread. The impossibly soft and pillowy plain white bread that all kids growing up in the 60s and 70s were eating. The photo in the cookbook even has the familiar red and blue polka dot packaging peeking through. Impossible not to have an emotional connection right away to this sandwich.
Fair warning, the pork needs to marinate, so make sure to plan! Other than making the marinade, the rest is a simple flour, egg, bread crumb dredge, and shallow fry. The pork is crispy on the outside, juicy on the inside and full of flavor. Chili paste is suggested as a garnish. In the beginning we spread a little on the sandwich, but now I dunk the fried pork right into a dish of chili paste, similar to what you would do when making buffalo chicken wings. YUM!
Appetites is truly one of the best cookbooks I have on my shelf. I love when an author tells stories through their food, and he does exactly that. It’s a peek inside how he cooked so lovingly for his family. This book is just stunning: excellently written, beautifully illustrated and is filled with lots of opportunities to laugh at his raw and brutally honest stories. Bourdain is certainly a great loss. May his spirit soar and be happy.
This book belongs on everyone’s bookshelf and is definitely worth the splurge. Visit your local library, small independently owned bookstore or purchase your copy on Amazon
I hope you’ll enjoy this book and cook along!
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