Macau Style Pork Chop Sandwich CREDIT

Editor’s Note: For more about Anthony Bourdain, don’t miss the documentary “Roadrunner” on CNN on Saturday, April 16, at 9 p.m. ET.

CNN  — 

Anthony Bourdain was a gifted chef and storyteller. His globe-trotting career lead him to share noodles with former President Barack Obama in Vietnam, try pig brains and blood in Thailand, and eat beaver in Quebec, which he said tasted like chicken.

His body of work – including memoirs, travel shows and cookbooks – was as expansive as his appetite.

The film “Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain” takes a look at his complex life and extensive legacy. It airs Sunday, April 16, on CNN.

This is a chance to open up Bourdain’s “Appetites: A Cookbook” and dive into some of the beloved travel documentarian’s favorite dishes.

One of the most delicious things inside, according to Bourdain, is the Macau-style pork chop sandwich. This sandwich, loosely inspired by a pork chop bun, was served to him during a television shoot in Macau, located an hour from Hong Kong by ferry.

The Macau-style pork chop sandwich, from Anthony Bourdain's "Appetites: A Cookbook," is a crowd pleaser with a spicy kick, thanks to a dollop of chili paste.

Macau was settled by the Portuguese in the 16th century and handed back to China in 1999. Macanese cuisine combines the best of Chinese and Portuguese ingredients and cooking along with influences from Brazil, Goa and other former Portuguese colonies.

Bourdain wrote that the cookbook photographer, Bobby Fisher, had a hard time shooting this sandwich because everyone in the room kept eating the models.

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Macau-style pork chop sandwich

Makes 10 to 12 servings

Ingredients

2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

¼ cup soy sauce

¼ cup Chinese rice wine

¼ cup black vinegar

1 tablespoon sesame oil

4 cloves garlic, 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

1. In a medium-size bowl, beat the egg yolks with 6 tablespoons sugar until foamy and pale. Beat in the mascarpone until smooth. Set aside.

2. In a large bowl, whip the egg whites with an electric mixer. When they are frothy, add the remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar. Continue beating until they hold stiff peaks. Fold the egg whites into the mascarpone mixture, then fold in the crushed amaretti cookies, if using. Set aside.

3. Mix the espresso with the rum in a shallow bowl. Soak each ladyfinger, one at a time, in this mixture until it has softened slightly and absorbed some of the liquid (The cookies should not be mushy, but your fingers should be able to make a light indentation in them.) Arrange the cookies in an 11x7x2-inch baking dish to form a tightly packed single layer. Use pieces of broken cookies to fill in any gaps. (If the cookies seem dry, a small amount of the coffee mixture may be spooned on top.)

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4. Spread the mascarpone cream mixture evenly over the cookies. Shake the cocoa through a fine-mesh sieve to evenly coat the top. Refrigerate to set for at least 2 hours before serving.

5. 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 until golden brown, about 5 minutes per side. Remove the cooked chops from the oil and let drain on the lined sheet pan. Season lightly with salt.

6. Toast the bread until golden brown. Assemble the sandwiches and serve with the chili paste alongside.

Adapted from “Appetites: A Cookbook” by Anthony Bourdain with Laurie Woolever. Copyright © 2016 by Anthony Bourdain. Excerpted by permission of Ecco, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.