Chinese Roast Pork on Garlic Bread was a sandwich made popular in the 1960s and 70s in the Catskills region of upstate New York.
Known as the Borscht Belt or “Jewish Alps” back in the day, towns in the Catskills would swell during the summer with resort and camp vacationers from New York City.
Meals at Catskills resorts were pretty regimented. Dinner was usually served between 4:30 and 6:30 and the Kosher menu was limited so if you didn’t like what was being served, you were out of luck. Also, after a good late night comedy routine, game of cards, or horse racing at the Monticello Raceway, folks got hungry-hungry for Chinese food!
During my summer vacations, I sometimes worked as the night shift line cook at the Holiday Inn restaurant and bar, and frequently made this satisfying Chinese BBQ Pork and Garlic Bread sandwich and the occasional shrimp with lobster sauce for those hungry late night patrons.
The Origin of the Chinese Roast Pork and Garlic Bread Sandwich
The rumor is that this famed roast pork sandwich (some called it the “RPG,” for “Roast Pork and Garlic”) started in a Chinese/Italian/American restaurant called Herbie’s in Loch Sheldrake, NY.
Herbie’s was frequented by nightclub entertainers and comedians who hung out for late night snacks and drinks after their Catskills resort performances.
The restaurant’s Chinese Roast Pork Sandwich became so popular, it was replicated by many local restaurants and later migrated to the city, appearing in restaurants, bars and delis in Brooklyn.
It’s very possible you’ve never heard of the RPG sandwich––even my daughters thought I was crazy when I told them about it! But then I showed them this article, where a Senior Critic at Eater wrote about his search for the fabled sandwich.
Where Could You Get Chinese Roast Pork on Garlic Bread?
Sadly, Herbie’s in Loch Sheldrake closed down long ago, so you can’t get the original roast pork sandwich. Many of the local restaurants who offered Chinese Roast Pork on Garlic bread have also closed down.
Everyone had their favorite place those days. The ones I personally remember were:
- Singer’s: A Chinese/American deli and restaurant located on Main Street in Liberty, NY. We recently found out that the owners’ son, Jeff Golder, frequently cooks our recipes here at The Woks of Life, and that his sister Debi also reads the blog! My father, See Kam Leung worked there in the 1960s.
- Holiday Inn Restaurant & Bar: Off exit 100 in Liberty, NY, I worked there in the 1970s and early 1980s with my stepfather, Mr. Yiu, as a kitchen man and line cook making Chinese and American food. He taught me everything about both Chinese and American cooking, and many of our recipes on the blog are the result of those lessons!
- The Triangle Diner: Located just across from the entrance to Grossinger’s Hotel and resort, it was a frequent stop for both diner food and Chinese food. I knew most of the Chinese chefs working there in the day––it was a small Chinese community!
What is Chinese Roast Pork?
You can’t use just any roast pork for this sandwich!
For an authentic a Cuban sandwich, you have to use Cuban-style roast pork, right?
For an authentic Chinese Roast Pork Sandwich, you have to use Chinese Roast Pork, or Char Siu. It’s best made fresh from scratch.
The good news is, it’s easy! It takes less than an hour to make (minus marinating time). Check out our Chinese BBQ roast pork recipe to see how we make it.
What Kind of Bread To Use
Crusty Italian bread is best. That’s what was used at the Holiday Inn, and I’m pretty sure they used Italian bread at Herbie’s also.
An alternative could be a hoagie or submarine roll, but whatever bread you use, it needs the fresh garlic and must be lightly toasted!
What to Serve with this Sandwich
To do it in the true Catskills style, serve a Kosher pickle with this sandwich along with Chinese hot mustard and duck sauce on the side.
The sweet and spicy combination of these two classic sauces really add variety to your sandwich.
We’re excited to share this retro Catskills regional recipe!
Chinese Roast Pork on Garlic Bread: Recipe Instructions
Slice the Chinese roast pork (char siu) into thin slices. We used to use a deli slicer back in the day at the restaurant, but you can do fine with a good chef’s knife.
Mixed the fresh mashed garlic (you can also use a garlic press) with the olive oil and salt.
Cut the Italian roll in half. If the roll is very thick, you may want to remove some of the soft bread inside. I have seen Bobby Flay do this on sandwich showdowns on his “Beat Bobby Flay” show, and he always wins!
Save the removed bread to be made into breadcrumbs, or to add to meatloaf or meatballs!
Spread the garlic and olive oil mixture evenly on one side of the bread and lightly toast it.
Spread 2 teaspoons butter (if using) on the other side of the bread and repeat with the other roll. You can use the garlic and oil spread on both sides if you do not want to use butter.
Lay the sliced pork on the sandwich.
Close the sandwich, cut on a diagonal, and plate with a Kosher dill pickle, Chinese hot mustard, and duck sauce on the side.
We hope you enjoyed this recipe and piece of food history! Do you remember the RPG in your youth? Questions about how to make the recipe? Let us know in the comments.
Chinese Roast Pork on Garlic Bread: A Retro Sandwich Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 pound sliced Chinese roast pork (char siu) (450g)
- 3 cloves garlic (mashed)
- 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/8 teaspoon salt (or to taste)
- 2 Italian or submarine rolls
- 4 teaspoons 20g softened butter (optional)
- 2 tablespoons Chinese hot mustard to serve
- 2 tablespoons Duck sauce to serve
Instructions
- Slice the Chinese roast pork (char siu) into thin slices.
- Mixed the fresh mashed garlic (you can also use a garlic press) with the olive oil and salt.
- Cut the Italian roll in half. If the roll is very thick, you may want to remove some of the soft bread inside. Spread the garlic and olive oil mixture evenly on one side of the bread and lightly toast it.
- Spread 2 teaspoons butter (if using) on the other side of the bread and repeat with the other roll. You can use the garlic and oil spread on both sides if you do not want to use butter.
- Lay the sliced pork on the sandwich, close it, cut on a diagonal, and plate with a Kosher dill pickle, Chinese hot mustard, and duck sauce on the side.
Notes
Nutrition
Joan Landa says
When I was a little girl, my father used to have these sandwiches delivered to our apartment in New York for my mother only. I used to BEG for a taste since the smell was so amazing, but she always said, “No, it’s mine, your father bought it for me and not for you” so I never got a taste of it ever. She would eat the entire sandwich, then lick her fingers and say, “It’s delicious” but not once in all the years my father ordered them for her would she let me taste it. So, now 60 years later, I will just have to make my own, thank you very much.
Bill says
Hi Joan, definitely give it a try and I’m sure you’ll love it :)
De Anna Most says
Omgosh, my family is from liberty! I spent the first 5 years of my life sitting on the the kitchen counter in the Triangle. Stuie Hellar was one of my dads best friends! I remember a Chinese chef named cookie! He’s 84 and wanted me to look for a roast pork receipe like we use eat there and I can’t believe I came across your pin!
Bill says
Hi De Anna, welcome to our site! I hope you enjoy our roast pork recipe and sandwich :)
Katherine says
I made this on the weekend and holy cow…. so goooooood! I couldn’t find the stuff to make the duck sauce but it was amazing with just the hot mustard and the dill pickles.
Judy says
Sounds lovely! So glad you enjoyed it.
marquis_morse says
Looks mindblowing. I thought you guys might be interested to know that here in Amsterdam a char siu sandwich on a baguette is a very normal and somewhat popular thing. This came about because both Indonesia and Suriname were both Dutch colonies, and in the mid 20th century, food from these colonies frequently became combined into a sort of “kitchen of the Indies”, meaning both the former Dutch East and West Indies, and foods from either colony frequently ended up on baguettes because, well, the Dutch love sandwiches :) Google broodje moksi meti. But man, now we just need to add the garlic bread!
Judy says
How interesting! This is how food evolves :-)
Jeremy says
Here on the Jersey Shore, there was this one pizza place that offered to put any sub on a garlic bread roll instead of the normal sub roll. I thought that was a great idea and made for a great meatball sub.
I never thought about putting Chinese roasted pork in a garlic bread roll. This sounds like the most amazing dish that I will be making this weekend.
As always,
Thanks for the great recipes and food history info!
Judy says
Thank you for your kind words, Jeremy, hope you like the recipe.
Cheryl Ching says
Sorry this is off topic, but do you guys have any molten salted duck egg recipes to share? I have had it at dim sum in both the steamed bun variation (流沙包) and the fried sesame ball version (煎堆). It’s my absolute favourite! I would love to know how I can make it at home.
Bill says
Hi Cheryl, we don’t have a recipe for the molten “liu sah bao” but Judy does have a similar recipe for the nai wong bao that you may be interested in.
Cheryl says
Thanks for the response, Bill. But alas, nai wong bao just doesn’t have the same goo factor… 😔
I really hope Judy can develop a liu sah bao recipe to share with us some day! I trust the recipe development and testing here more than most food blogs.
Judy says
Thank you for your love and support, I will work on it, just for you :-)
Cheryl says
Thanks Judy, you’re the best!!! <3
Roxanne says
Ummm…this makes me hungry. Now I see where the last two recipes were leading (duck sauce and Chinese Hot Mustard). Your blog is the one I recommend for anyone looking, not only for Chinese / Asian food, but also dishes like Prime Rib. Thank you for doing such a great job.
Marc Gray says
Wow, for me this was a true retrospective. My inlace had 2 properties near Hurleyville in Sullivan County and I recall the eateries that were nice enterprising friendly family owned and operated. My time in Liberty were always brief. I was there for my first time in Liberty in the mid sixties until not so long ago. Thanx mutely for this !
Bill says
Hi Marc, glad this recipe stirred some memories up for you – the sixties and seventies were the good old days up there in the Catskills!
Karol Scott says
That’s the recipe I’m lookin for!!! It was served at Singer’s Restaurant in Liberty, New York……
Bill says
Hi Karol, our recipe is just very similar to (if not the same as) the ones served in Singer’s Holiday Inn and the Triangle diner back in the day :)
Bill says
Hi Roxanne, we do try to mix up the recipes on the blog, and I personally love posting classic recipes. Believe it or not, the prime rib recipe also came out of the Catskills restaurants and hotel kitchens!
Jane says
Here in SF area we mostly have what’s called French bread. Some chewy baguette, some softer rolls. I’m never sure what texture to go for when recipes ask for Italian. Hoagie rolls are soft? Italian are harder? — Maybe need a guide to New York bread!
Bill says
Hi Jane, French bread is usually crustier, and I like a nice chewy bread with a crust. Hoagie rolls and Italian bread is a bit softer, but they are great after they are toasted. The conclusion – use the bread that you like!
Jeff Goldner says
Dad says Singer’s was serving this long before Herbie’s. But it certainly was ubiquitous. Debi has been desperate for a recipe. I will be making your pork again soon, this time with the recommended cut of meat. The key thing that will be hard to reproduce is the bread. We used Katz’s “Club Bread” and I’ve never seen anything quite the same. There will never be another Katz’s.
Bill says
Hi Jeff, That’s a good data point from your dad! I’m sure all the restaurant owners kept track of each other :) Totally agree there will never be another Katz’s. I have never had a Napoleon like the one they used to make, and their cakes were delicious! My old high school buddy’s father used to work there.
De Anna says
My Dad is Ken Most, he’s been wanting to make this, we’re from liberty! There is nothing like this anywhere, the key is the garlic bread and yes Katz anything!
S says
I was born and raised in Southern California and I’ve never seen a restaurant serve char siu on garlic bread! That’s fascinating. It doesn’t sound bad, but definitely different from eating with steamed rice! It’s amazing how foods adapt by region. Thanks for posting this, and many interesting stories and recipes.
Jeff Goldner says
I have an old Liberty friend in the food service business in LA. He thinks we should go into business selling these. I think Food Truck sounds right! Think there’s a market?
Julie says
growing up in Honolulu, i use to take char sui sandwiches to school for lunch
Bill says
Hi Julie, I have a feeling you were considered the “lucky girl” at the lunch table :)
Bill says
Hi S, I think this sandwich never made it out west but if you’re ever in a mood for a good sandwich, try it out!