Chinese Roast Pork on Garlic Bread

Name: Chinese Roast Pork on Garlic Bread
Total time: 1 h 15 min
Yield: 4 sandwiches
Cuisine: american
Ingredients: 2 pounds boneless pork shoulder or butt; 1/4 cup honey; 3 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce; 2 tablespoons Shaoxing wine, dry sherry or sake; 2 tablespoons hoisin sauce; 1 tablespoon oyster sauce; 1 teaspoon five-spice powder; 2 jarred red fermented bean curd cubes, plus 1 tablespoon of the liquid from the jar (optional); 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened; 8 garlic cloves, peeled and minced; 4 large sub rolls, not too crusty or firm, or Italian- or French-style bread, cut into 4 (6-to-8-inch) sections, split lengthwise; 1/2 cup apricot jam; Red- or white-wine vinegar, to taste; Chinese mustard, for serving; 1 bunch scallions, trimmed and sliced on an angle (about 1 cup), for serving

By Sam Sifton

Published Jan. 19, 2020

Total Time: 1¼ hours, plus marinating
Rating: 4(449)
Comments: Read comments

Chinese roast pork on garlic bread is one of the great New York sandwiches, a taste of the highest peaks of Catskills cuisine: thinly sliced, Cantonese-style char siu married to Italian-American garlic bread beneath a veil of sweet-sticky duck sauce. It’s been around since the 1950s, a favorite of the summertime borscht belt crowd. You can make the sandwich with store-bought char siu if you like, but I prefer the homemade variety because I can make it with fancy pork from the farmers’ market. It’s also juicier and more flavorful. Then, layer the meat onto garlic bread, and add a drizzle of duck sauce – for that, I use leftover packets from Chinese takeout orders or make my own with apricot preserves cut through with vinegar. Some people add a slash of hot mustard; others fresh pickles, or coleslaw. “It’s the ultimate assimilation crossover food,” the food writer and erstwhile restaurant critic Arthur Schwartz told me. “That sandwich is a symbol of acculturation.”

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Ingredients

Yield:4 sandwiches

For the Roast Pork

2pounds boneless pork shoulder or butt
¼cup honey
3tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
2tablespoons Shaoxing wine, dry sherry or sake
2tablespoons hoisin sauce
1tablespoon oyster sauce
1teaspoon five-spice powder
2jarred red fermented bean curd cubes, plus 1 tablespoon of the liquid from the jar (optional)

For the Garlic Bread

4tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
8garlic cloves, peeled and minced
4large sub rolls, not too crusty or firm, or Italian- or French-style bread, cut into 4 (6-to-8-inch) sections, split lengthwise
½cup apricot jam
Red- or white-wine vinegar, to taste
Chinese mustard, for serving
1bunch scallions, trimmed and sliced on an angle (about 1 cup), for serving

Ingredient Substitution Guide

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Preparation

Step 1
Cut the pork into 1-by-4-inch pieces (each about the size of a stick of butter).
Step 2
Make the marinade: In a large bowl, whisk together the honey, soy sauce, wine, hoisin sauce, oyster sauce, five-spice powder and, if using, the bean curd and its liquid. Add the pork, and mix thoroughly, then cover, and refrigerate for a few hours or up to 1 day.
Step 3
When you’re ready to cook the pork, heat the oven to its highest temperature (not the broil setting). Line a large sheet pan with aluminum foil, and put a metal rack on top. Take the pork out of the marinade, and place it on the rack in an even layer. Reserve remaining marinade.
Step 4
Slide the pan into the top third of the oven, and roast for 20 minutes. Turn the pieces, and roast until each piece is deeply caramelized on all sides and fall-apart tender, another 20 to 25 minutes, basting with the remaining marinade. (If the pork isn’t as caramelized as you’d like, turn on the broiler to crisp the meat’s exterior, 1 to 2 minutes.)
Step 5
Turn off the oven, and transfer pork to a cutting board. Let the pork rest for 10 minutes, then slice about half the pieces lengthwise into thin strips about the size of thick-cut bacon. (Reserve the uncut pieces for future use, over rice, in stir-fries, etc.)
Step 6
Make the garlic bread: Mash together the butter and garlic, and then spread across the sliced sides of the rolls or bread. Place bread directly onto middle rack in the still-hot oven to toast for 3 to 5 minutes. While your bread is toasting, prepare your homemade duck sauce by stirring together the apricot jam with vinegar, to taste.
Step 7
Assemble the sandwiches: Spread mustard on one side of toasted bread, then duck sauce on the other. Add the sliced roast pork, garnish heavily with sliced scallions and serve.

Ratings

4 out of 5

449 user ratings

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Comments

Jeff Goldner5 years ago

The rumors that Herbie's was "first" are just not true. Singer's in Liberty (my family's restaurant) served this sandwich long before. For the garlic bread, never butter. We always had minced garlic in oil ready to go. Spread on the "club" bread, under the broiler for maybe a minute. Use bigger pieces of pork, we always used char siu butt, sliced thin by machine, then dipped in master sauce. Sauteed onions. Duck sauce and mustard were always on the table (or in packets, which are gross now).

dona5 years ago

@jeff goldner Hi Jeff- my family had Eddies Antique Jewelers across the street! we loved the mix of Jewish deli and Chinese foods. Alma the waitress was always there(in fact we visited her at the local nursing home where my grandmother ended up!)And the Boston cream Pie!- the standard for all others my whole life! thank you for having such a wonderful restaurant. Singers & Katz's bakery fed us very well all the years I grew up in South Fallsburg while my mother worked at her parents shop.

Anne5 years ago

One thing I always do when using marinades is that I cook the marinade on the stove until I have cooked out any bacteria from the raw pork. Then, I use it to baste. Be safe folks!

Jim Ball - Chicago1 year ago

I have a routine that takes this to a new level. Rather than cook at high heat, I sear the marinated pieces in a dutch oven on all sides at about 8 pm. I then put the cover on the dutch oven, turn the oven down to 200, and let it cook all night. I'm up at 6, take it out and let it cool, and stick it in the fridge. At 5 pm, I then slice it. The cooking-then-cooling process makes the otherwise fall apart meat slice much easier and keeps it in slices, and improves the flavor.

Jeff Goldner1 year ago

One more thing: don't use the junk that comes in the plastic duck sauce packets. There is literally nothing real, just high-fructose corn syrup and food coloring, with more plastic waste which might taste as good as the sauce. I go with Gold's, which is easy to find in grocery stores in the "kosher" section. Huge jar which lasts a long time, real ingredients.

Kate1 year ago

Didn't make the sandwich, but did make the roast pork for an Asian dish I was making, and it was perfect! Will definitely use this again.

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