When Chef Don Ras at Parkhurst – FedEx Supply Chain heard about Food Management’s Best Sandwich competition, he saw his opportunity and took it!

Though the jury’s still out – the winner will be announced in September – it’s safe to say that this sandwich was a HUGE winner with Chef Don’s guests. So much so, that it’s become a staple and is offered at least once a week! We had to see what all the hype was about, and we wanted to be able to share the recipe with all Parkhurst sites, so a photoshoot was scheduled and a recipe card was created. Now, voila! You, too, can enjoy Chef Don’s Thai Pork Belly Sandwich.

Though this sandwich was created specifically with the competition in mind, Chef Don had been wanting to experiment with pork belly for a while, due to its recent spike in popularity in the industry. He knew he wanted to pair it with something deliciously acidic to balance out the richness of the pork – hence, the pickled (in-house!) red onion.

From there, he drew inspiration from the Vietnamese Bahn Mi, but with a Thai twist – the cilantro is something you’d find on a Bahn Mi sandwich, but the pork braised with spicy peppers and coconut milk isn’t. Then, instead of a baguette, Chef Don opted to put it all on a brioche bun, which lends its sweetness well to the rest of the flavors.

Without further adieu, check out the recipe here:

Enjoy!