07 Nov2009
I was messing around in the kitchen, trying to come up with a sandwich that was first delicious, and second, used lechon somehow. First I made a paksiw na lechon and shredded the meat and placed it in a pan de sal. It tasted great, but it looked pretty boring. I think if the paksiw were darker and I threw in some greens it might look more appealing. And maybe a harder bun is necessary to hold up to the shredded paksiw, a pulled pork sandwich wannabe. But it wasn’t a slam dunk sandwich, so I futzed around some more…
The next experiment was to thinly slice some leftover lechon meat from the belly section and a little from the thigh section. I took a couple of square inches of skin as well. Into a HOT pan I quickly fried/seared the slices of meat in a little vegetable oil and removed it immediately. I fried the skin until crisp. Next I added a half tablespoon of lechon sarsa (bottled in this case, but freshly made would be better) to the meat and gently tossed it with some freshly ground pepper. I toasted a half pita and stuffed it with the lechon, some grated carrot and cucumber in a mild vinaigrette, some chopped cilantro and a few slices of homemade pickled green chillies, and bit into it. OMG! Now that is a sandwich! Part banh mi inspired, part Peking Duck, part Mediterranean light bread… but somehow this was tasty, not dry, not too saucy, fat and acid balanced off each other… And instead of side order of fries, I had one crisp fried piece of lechon skin to nibble on. Delicious. I ate two sandwiches in a row followed by my cholesterol medication! Will definitely have to eventually add this to the crew’s lineup of Zubuchon products.
COMMENTS:
Artisan Chocolatier, Philippines says:
AWESOME!!! I’ll make some pita bread and try this out as well.
BTW MM, is this zubuchon from the little experiment you showed me yesterday?
Nov 7, 2009 | 10:45 am
Melissa, United States says:
YUM! MM, when will we have Zubuchon in Manila??
Nov 7, 2009 | 10:54 am
penoybalut, United States says:
Ano kaya MM, kung ang dressing mo ay sarsa din ng lechon, parang masarap di yun ah. Habang ako’y nagtratrabaho, ay aking naasamam yung malambot ng pinagong na may ganyan nga shredded lechon na may sarsa, tapos ang pangotra ay atsara o kaya ay pipino o kundi naman ay kagaya ng vietnamese sandwich.
Ay naku sigurado ang weekend ko ay may kasamang lechon liempo.
Nov 7, 2009 | 11:01 am
tnm, United States says:
aaaccckkk!
Nov 7, 2009 | 11:01 am
el_jefe, Philippines says:
ANSARAP!!!!! nagutom ako ha! eto ang masarap na nakamamatay! pwes atleast namatay sa sarap! hehehhe ppwede din siguro and tinadtad na zubuchon sa thai pork laarb instead na ginilong ang gamitin….yumyum! o kaya nama’y isahog ang mga laman at balat sa pakbet ilokano o pinakbet tagalog mala bagnet ng ilokos…naku po! nakmamatay na sarap! :=>
Nov 7, 2009 | 11:34 am
el_jefe, Philippines says:
ANSARAP!!!!! nagutom ako ha! eto ang masarap na nakamamatay! pwes atleast namatay sa sarap! hehehhe ppwede din siguro and tinadtad na zubuchon sa thai pork laarb instead na giniling ang gamitin….yumyum! o kaya nama’y isahog ang mga laman at balat sa pakbet ilokano o pinakbet tagalog mala bagnet ng ilokos…naku po! nakmamatay na sarap! :=>
Nov 7, 2009 | 11:35 am
joan, Philippines says:
MM, I’m going to experiment on ZUBUCHON pizza this Sunday, using Artisan’s crispy pizza dough and his homemade sauce. I can’t wait!
Nov 7, 2009 | 11:40 am
JoannaQ, Philippines says:
my christmas wish: for zubuchon to be available in Manila…please please…
Nov 7, 2009 | 12:21 pm
marcial bonifacio, Cayman Islands says:
My Deathrow Meal…indeed!=D
Nov 7, 2009 | 12:26 pm
Pilar, Philippines says:
Oh MM! Am green with envy! whoa…..
Nov 7, 2009 | 1:11 pm
Jaja, Philippines says:
sarap sarap!!! can’t wait to go to Cebu na!!
Nov 7, 2009 | 1:35 pm
junb, United States says:
WOW Now this is real FOOD !!! How bout Zubuchon Wrap with crispy skin, baby spinach, jalapeno, a bit of onion and honey mustard dressing :)
Nov 7, 2009 | 2:00 pm
shasha, Philippines says:
lami kaayo MM!
Nov 7, 2009 | 2:39 pm
det, United States says:
at 2 a.m. am drooling!
Nov 7, 2009 | 3:02 pm
quiapo, Australia says:
sounds really nice! I wonder if the use of litson sarsa makes one think automatically of rice and whether using instead a plain gravy made from the oil frying the skin and meat would blend better with bread. In my recent trip home I was served Peking Duck style lechon meat, skin and spring onion with sarsa wrapped in a crepe, – very nice!!
Nov 7, 2009 | 3:18 pm
Hatari, Philippines says:
#$%^&* MM!!! Oh but you’re good.
Nov 7, 2009 | 4:54 pm
silly lolo, says:
Futzin’ is where it’s at! People should commit to futz more. The thing is, when you’re futzin’ you are never quite sure where you will end up but when you get there, it just feels sooo good!
MM is a futzer. Artisan is a futzer. Join the party and futz!
Nov 7, 2009 | 6:01 pm
denise, United Arab Emirates says:
why do i torture myself day in and day out following this blog????!!! waaaaaaaaah…so hungry again…january seems so far away….but the good thing about this is, by then i won’t just have zubuchon, lechon sisig, lechon paksiw, there would also now be a Zubuchonwich! plus some other innovations (chicharon bulaklak?)
silly lolo…hehe..that’s a very good way of putting it…futzin’…hehe…
Nov 7, 2009 | 9:05 pm
Vicky Go, says:
That zubochonwich looks like it will TKO any porchetta version. Yummy! Next time I buy some lechon from the East Asian store, I’ll try this!
BTW – I made the “pata tim” a la MM var of Sweet Soy Pork Hocks in Waitrose. It rocked! Delish! Thanks MM!
Nov 7, 2009 | 9:05 pm
Artisan Chocolatier, Philippines says:
Ok guys, For tomorrow’s Sunday market….I have some pita bread and tortilla.
Here’s my suggestion for the filling for the pita bread
1. Zubuchon (belly portion) Skin and meat
2. lechon sauce
3. Atchara
For the tortilla
All the above with rice!!
Joan….for your lechon pizza, use lechon sauce (instead of my pizza sauce) and atchara
I’ll also bring some pan-de-sal for the sisig. Add some mayo
Wheat Ciabatta will be great for the paksiw
Nov 7, 2009 | 10:20 pm
joyce, China says:
looks delicious! the combination of the veggies plus coriander with the pork reminds me of the pork dishes i ate in vietnam. these past posts is giving me a hankering for roast pork.
Nov 7, 2009 | 10:41 pm
emsy, Philippines says:
this looks yummy!
Nov 8, 2009 | 2:47 am
SD, Philippines says:
I’d like Raita with my Zubuchon and pita :)
Nov 8, 2009 | 6:23 am
Vicky, Australia says:
Looks really yummy! It might also be good on a lebanese flat bread and eaten shawarma style!
Nov 8, 2009 | 8:37 am
angie, Philippines says:
wow! i just bought zubuchon 30 minutes ago. and it was d bomb! i was supposed to go home to davao yesrday but opted to stay behind just to be able to eat half a kilo of lechon. i could really taste all the herbs and spices. sarap to the bones. also got some belgian lace cookies from don mertos and some from sweet melissa. togethet with all the pinagsugbo and biscocho from iloilo, piayaya fr bacolod and pinato fr san carlos, all my luggage contains is food!
Nov 8, 2009 | 11:45 am
Marketman, Philippines says:
angie, thank you for trying the Zubuchon, and I am pleased you enjoyed it!
Nov 8, 2009 | 12:34 pm
millet, Philippines says:
OMG! this is so healthy, i assure you, because all the vegetables are going to make up for that miniscule amount of fat, and the chili slices will counteract the cholesterol. :-)
Nov 8, 2009 | 12:47 pm
Marketfan, Philippines says:
Do you think some roasted bell peppers and caramelized onions with a little balsamic vinegar will also go well with the zubuchon sandwich filling?
Nov 8, 2009 | 7:53 pm
Marketman, Philippines says:
Marketfan, they probably would, but I would remove the carrot and cucumber and add some baby arugula for greens instead… :)
Nov 8, 2009 | 7:57 pm
atbnorge, Norway says:
Finally, I get to see a picture of the legendary Zubuchon. Makes me think of a nice good crackling for the Christmas Eve roasted ribs. My husband would love the touch of chili…
Nov 9, 2009 | 6:53 am
Maricel, Philippines says:
The homemade pickled green chilies look good. Can you please share the recipe. Thanks!
Nov 9, 2009 | 2:32 pm
Mini, Philippines says:
Looks terrific, Marketman! This will surely be a hit as “lechon sandwiches” are quite rare. God bless you!
Nov 9, 2009 | 3:41 pm
Kelly, Philippines says:
I have to get myself to Cebu soon to try the Zubuchon! (I love pork!)
Nov 9, 2009 | 4:50 pm
Marketman, Philippines says:
Maricel, I can recall which recipe I used for the pickles, but I think they were just cider vinegar, sugar, salt and possibly a bit of water. Then I added that to chopped siling mahaba and put them in a boiling water bath for 8 minutes to sterilize them. They came out pretty close to the Singaporean version I was trying to re-create. Don’t keep all seeds in the chilies as they can be a bit overwhelming…
Nov 10, 2009 | 6:24 pm