A Macau pork chop bun is a famous street food from Macau—often described as their answer to a burger, but with a very different flavour and texture. It’s served in a crusty, chewy roll, similar to a small baguette, which holds up perfectly against the juicy pork.
Traditionally, it’s kept very simple, with no salad or sauce, letting the flavour of the pork really shine. That said, I like to add a bit of mayonnaise mixed with sriracha or sweet chilli sauce to give it a little extra kick.
The pork is usually served bone-in, which adds flavour and gives it that authentic look, but you can easily use boneless if you prefer.
MACAU PORK CHOP BUN
Serves 2
INGREDIENTS:
two 1.5 cm thick bone-in pork chops about 170 g each
2 crusty rolls or small baguettes
Marinade:
½ teaspoon sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon white pepper
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
pinch of five spice
1 tablespoon Shao Xing rice wine or dry sherry
1 tablespoon light soy sauce
2 tablespoons corn flour
1 tsp sesame oil (opt)
METHOD:
Using a sharp cleaver, knife or sissors slice into the edges of each pork chop 3-4 times, creating slits all the way through to help keep the meat flat when cooked. Then, with the ridged side of a meat tenderiser or blunt edge of a Chinese cleaver, pound pork chops gently to 75 mm thickness, making rivets along the pork. They will be a similar thickness to an escalope.
Place the chops into a large mixing bowl and, except for the corn flour, add all of the Marinade ingredients and massage well into the meat until the liquid is completely absorbed. Set aside to marinate, ideally in the fridge over night but even 20 minutes will do if you are pushed for time.
When you are ready to cook, sprinkle the cornflour over the meat and, using your hands, massage the pork once more, until the chops are covered in a creamy coating.
Fill a large deep fying pan (large enough to take both the chops with out touching) with about 4 cm of vegetable oil and set over medium heat until oil registers 180ºC. Test the temperature of your oil by placing the tip of a wooden skewer or wooden chopstick into the oil: if small bubbles form around the wood after a second or so, the oil is at roughly 180°C .
Carefully lower the chops into the hot oil and cook for around 2-3 minutes on each side, until cooked through and golden brown. Drian on paper towels then pop ino a bread roll and enjoy!
