Cambodian Sausage Sandwich

I have been wanting to utilize my Mother’s homemade Kwah Ko (Cambodian Sausage) in other dishes beside eating them with steamed rice, watermelon or papaya salad. Many many ideas crossed my mind and I have yet to test them out. Yesterday I was at the grocery store and finally had a chance to pick up some ingredients to make my long anticipated creation of Num Pang Kwah Ko នុំបុ័ងខ្វាគោ (Cambodian Sausage Sandwich) inspired by the Cambodian Sandwich shop in NYC called Num Pang. Another version of my Cambodian Sandwich was the Spicy Beef Basil made awhile back.

From the image one might think it’s another Vietnamese popular sandwich known as Banh Mi. While appearance might be similar, the flavors are totally different. What dominates and make this sandwich distinctive in taste is the Kwah Ko. Just one bite and you will instantly notice the difference because Kwah Ko itself is very flavorful and loaded with Cambodian spices!

At the grocery store I only had to pick up a few items. The Kwah Ko is about medium size in length so a hot dog bun would be a bit too long while a hamburger bun would be a bit too round. Therefore a dinner roll (like pictured below) was a perfect match. The next and final item that I picked up was a jar of mayo. This was the first time buying mayo because I’ve never had a need (recipe) to use it and for this reason I only bought a small LITE jar. Pickled carrots & daikon, pickled jalapeños and fresh cilantro were available in my fridge.

When it was time to make my sandwich I pulled out the Kwah Ko from the freezer and set it on the hot grill. While that is going, I prepared the rest. I wanted a flavor mayo but didn’t want to buy it as is so instead I got a plain one and chopped up some pickled jalapeños and mix it together to create my version of spicy mayo. It didn’t take long to put this all together and these things can be prepared well in advance. The wait was on the grilled Kwah Ko. I want mine to be a bit brunt and crunchy. You have many options on how to lay the Kwah Ko in between the rolls. I sliced mine diagonally and then spread it out.

For those who ordered my Mother’s Kwah Ko, try making this sandwich.

Cambodian Sausage Sandwich (makes 2 sandwiches)
(Num Pang Kwah Ko) នុំបុ័ងខ្វាគោ

Ingredients
2 dinner rolls, slice in half
4 Kwah Ko (Cambodian Sausage), grilled
½ cup pickled carrots & daikon
2 tablespoons chopped pickled jalapeños
2 tablespoons mayo
a few cilantro sprigs

Preperation:
Make spicy mayo by combining 2 tablespoons plain mayo with 2 tablespoons pickled jalapeños.

Slice the bread rolls in half. If you want a deeper pocket for the filling, you can remove some bread. Toast the bread rolls on the grill (or oven) to get it warm and crunchy.

Making the sandwich:
Spread spicy mayo on the bottom layer of the bread.

Then top with grilled Kwah Ko (Cambodian Sausage). You can either leave it whole or slice and break them apart when you lay it down.

Add pickled carrots & daikon.

Garnish with a few sprigs of cilantro and add the top bread. Cucumber slices would also be a great addition. I forgot to grab some at the market.