pork sung-wich

After a 3-day weekend, going back to work makes for a rough day. I was cranky. I wanted pork fried rice. But I also knew I had lots of fun stuff waiting for me at home from a recent visit to an Asian grocery store. Considering my pork craving, I knew I had to include Pork Sung into my dinner. Pork Sung is dried, shredded pork, also known as Rousong, pork thread, and (my favorite) Pork Wool. Appetizing, right? :)




Pork sung is sweet and porky... kind of like barbecue pork. It looks kinda hairy, but it is not... it almost melts in your mouth... but still keeps a nice meaty chew. The only way I've ever had it was just simply on some rice. Pork Wool on white rice does not a blog post make, however. I wanted bread (I crave crusty bread... mmmmm). Boom. Sandwich.

This is inspired by Banh Mi sandwiches... well, loosely anyway. Lightly pickled fresh vegetables, crusty french bread, meat, cilantro, fat. The "pickled" vegetables get a bit of flavor from another fun Asian grocery item: sae-wu-jut... tiny shrimp brined in salt and water and fermented. Apparently these are a main ingredient when making kimchi. They are adorable, stinky, and add great flavor.




And yes, I'm aware that this sandwich jumps all over Asia... Chinese pork, Vietnamese-inspired sandwich, Korean shrimp sauce... fusion, baby.

Pork Sung-wich

-1/2 thinly sliced cucumber
-2 thinly sliced or shredded carrots
-1 Tablespoon Sae-wu-jut (salted shrimp sauce)
-1/2 cup rice wine vinegar
-water
-6-8 inch piece French Baguette
-1 Tablespoon butter
-Sriracha sauce
-about 1/2 cup Pork Sung
-Cilantro

-Place the cucumber and carrot in a bowl. Add shrimp sauce and vinegar, then water to just cover (there will be enough vegetables for 3-4 sandwiches). Stir gently and refrigerate while you prepare everything else. Heat bread up in the oven until the crust is nice and crisp and flaky. Use a knife to split the bread lengthwise. Spread butter on the top and bottom. Squirt some Sriracha sauce on the top half. Drip dry the vegetables and place them on the bottom half of the bread. Top with pork sung and a nice handful of cilantro. Sandwich it up and eat.