The authentic Macanese pork chop bun is a very simple sandwich that consists of just a Portuguese bread roll and a bone-in thin-cut pork chop. It is the most famous and popular street food in Macau, and for good reason. The bun is tender, crispy, and moist with butter. The pork chop is fresh, juicy, and either fried or grilled, right off the stove. No tomato slice or sauce required. I love the simplicity of the original version, but found it challenging to serve for dinner or at a grilling party. The pork chop starts to lose its juices very quickly once it’s off the stove. This isn’t a problem for the street food version, since the juice will be absorbed by the bun immediately. It makes the sandwich moist without being soggy, and you’ll finish the whole thing within a minute or two.
The pork chop bun will taste a bit dry if you don’t serve it hot. So my suggestion is to add sliced vegetables and sauce when serving this dish for your dinner or party. This is easy to accommodate. You can choose from lettuce, tomato, onion, or pickled or fresh cucumber. As for sauces, my favorite in this case is mayonnaise, but ketchup and mustard work, too. Again, you want to keep this sandwich very simple so the pork chop will be the star. So, limit your toppings to two or three items.
For the most flavorful pork chops, I highly recommend you marinate the chops overnight. Marinating them right before cooking will work, too. Simply sprinkle a bit more salt onto the pork chops during cooking, to get them well seasoned. Need more ideas for your summer grilling party? Check out my Grilled Chicken Breast with Black Bean Sauce, Cha Siu Kebab, and Five Spice Chicken for mains. And my Cucumber Salad, Mango Spinach Salad, and Wood Ear Mushroom Salad for sides.
If you give this recipe a try, let us know! Leave a comment, rate it (once you’ve tried it), and take a picture and tag it #omnivorescookbook on Instagram! I’d love to see what you come up with. Cheers, friends!
