Banh mi

Banh Mi is a Vietnamese sandwich that’s made up of an odd sounding combination – crusty bread rolls smeared with pate, mayo, suspicious looking Asian ham, pickled vegetables, green onion, coriander/cilantro, a mighty wack of fresh chilies and drizzle of seasoning.

It tastes like a rich ham sandwich with a hit of Asian freshness. It’s a sensation of flavors and textures that’s generated a cult following all around the world. The most sought after Banh Mi vendors have lengthy queues from early morning – both here and in Vietnam.

Ingredients:

1. Spread:

1. Pâté: Optional, but traditionally found on Banh Mi Sandwiches. Pâté is a paste that’s made from ground meat (usually pork) and vegetables. It’s often served as a spread for crackers and bread. In these sandwiches, it adds a rich, umami, creamy depth.
2. Chili Garlic Mayonnaise: Regular mayonnaise, lite mayo, avocado mayo or vegan mayo like Veganize will all work. You can also add some softened butter to the mayonnaise as sometimes done in Vietnam.

2. Pork Marinade:

1. Lemongrass: This is a perennial grass that grows in tropical climates with a pungent, lemony taste. It is widely used in Thai and Vietnamese cuisine. A stalk of lemongrass consists of a few layers of tough outer husks which you will discard to reveal the softer white core layers, which is what we want for this recipe. You can find lemongrass at Sprouts and Whole Foods either whole or in sectioned into smaller pieces with the herbs.
2. Shallots: These have a delicate, sweet flavor that blends well with the other aromatics in the marinade. You may use half a yellow onion in a bind.
3. Fish sauce: I promise fish sauce will not be detectable or make your Vietnamese Sandwich taste fishy – even though it smells super fishy. It is critical to infuse the pork with its nutty, rich, savory, salty flavor. Red Boat Fish Sauce is a great brand.
4. Oyster sauce: Oyster sauce is a thick, brown sauce with a balance between sweet and salty with an earthy undertone, due to the oyster extracts. Please use QUALITY oyster sauce such as Lee Kum Kee or Kikkoman. You truly can taste the difference and will be sorely disappointed with less quality brands.
5. Lime juice: You’ll need 3tbsps of fresh or bottled lime juice.
6. Sweeteners: Both maple syrup and brown sugar are requisite to balance the salty fish sauce and tangy citrus notes. Always use pure maple syrup and not the imitation kind. You may substitute with all brown sugar if needed.
7. Ginger: You may use fresh or ground ginger in the marinade, but fresh is always best. If using fresh, no need to grate, just peel and add to the blender.
8. Garlic: 5 cloves of garlic infuse the marinade with a subtle garlic flavor. You may substitute with 1tsp garlic powder in a bind.
9. Toasted sesame oil: Use toasted sesame oil, also known as dark, black, or Asian sesame oil. Toasted sesame oil boasts a strong nutty aroma and flavor verses light/plain sesame oil which is a low-flavor oil.
10. Chili paste: Use your favorite chili sauce like Sambal Oelek or sriracha.
11. Spices: Ground coriander and Chinese 5 spice round out the marinade. Chinese 5 Spice is commonly found in pate, so if you skip the pate on the sandwich, it’s more important to not skip the 5 spice in the marinade.
12. Oil: We need additional oil/fat in the marinade to transfer fat-soluble flavors into the meat; it also helps the meat stay juicy. Use neutral-flavored, high smoking point oil like canola or vegetable oil.

3. Pickled vegetables:

1. Carrots: You can use store-bought matchstick carrots or cut your own matchsticks, about 3 carrots worth.
2. Daikon Radish: These can be found at Sprouts, Whole Foods and possibly your grocery store. Daikon look like a long, thin white tuber, are slightly tangy and boast an excellent crunch. Daikon is milder in flavor/less peppery than traditional radishes but you may substitute with regular radishes, keeping that in mind.
3. Rice Vinegar: Make sure to use unseasoned rice vinegar.
4. Sugar: A couple tablespoons is required to balance out the acidity of the rice vinegar. Use granulated sugar for a neutral sweetness.
5. Salt: Just 1tsp salt flavors the pickled vegetables.

How to Make Banh Mi?

1. Slice the Meat:

1. Slice the pork thinly into ¼-inch slices lengthwise.
2. Cover with plastic wrap and pound with a meat mallet to about ⅛-inch even thickness.

   

2. Marinate the Meat:

1. Add all of the Banh Mi marinade ingredients to a high powered blender and blend until smooth.
2. Add the sliced meat and marinade to a freezer size bag or shallow dish and marinate in the refrigerator for 4-8 hours (the longer the better).

   

3. Make the Pickled Vegetables:

1. Add water, vinegar and sugar to a microwave-safe liquid measuring cup and microwave until boiling, about 60 seconds. Whisk to dissolve the sugar and salt.
2. Add the vegetables to a mason jar/bowl. Carefully pour the vinegar mixture over top.
3. Press the vegetables down with a spoon to help submerge, then wait 10 minutes or so and repeat until they are all submerged in the solution.
4. Let the mixture cool to room temperature for 30 minutes, then seal and refrigerate until ready to use.

   

4. Cook the Pork:

1. After the pork has had time to sit in the marinade, remove it from the fridge and set out at room temperature for 30 minutes before cooking.
2. Clean, grease, and preheat an outdoor grill/indoor grill pan to high heat.
3. Before cooking the pork, open the baguette rolls and grill the insides just until toasted.
4. Add the pork slices in a single layer and cook for 1-2 minutes per side – don’t overcook.

   

5. Repeat the process with the remaining pork pieces.

5. Assemble the Banh Mi Sandwiches:

1. Whisk the mayonnaise and Asian chili garlic sauce together. Spread the chili mayo in a thin layer on the top and bottom of each toasted role.
2. Spread some pâté along the bottom of each roll (optional but highly recommended).
3. Layer the sandwiches with sliced pork, drained pickled vegetables, cucumber slices, jalapeño slices, and chopped cilantro.

   

Tips:

1. Partially freeze the pork for easier slicing. The pork is much easier to slice if partially frozen (freeze for 1-2 hours). When ready to slice, cut the pork tenderloin in half, then stick half back in the freezer until you’re finished slicing the first half.
2. Don’t skip pounding the pork. Just like chicken, pounding the pork tenderizes the meat even further – you’ll be amazed at how buttery tender it becomes. It also helps to even out uneven slices. If you don’t have meat mallet, use the side of a can or a rolling pin.
3. Marinate the pork, but not too long. Ideally, the pork will marinate for 6-8 hours for maximum flavor infusion. However, don’t marinate the pork much longer because the marinade can break down the proteins of the thin slices which will make the pork mushy.
4. Pickle the vegetables early. Likewise, the longer you let the veggies bathe in the pickling brine, the more pronounced the sweet and tangy flavors will be. I suggest pickling the vegetables a day early so they can marinate for a full 24 hours. At the very least, pickle them just after you get the pork in the marinade.
5. Slice the matchsticks thinly. Both the carrots and daikon deliver dynamic crunch, so make sure to slice them quite thinly. Thicker is fine, but they will be that much crunchier.
6. Don’t skip the five-spice. If you are not using pate, then I highly recommend using Chinese 5-Spice in the marinade. Many pates are seasoned with Chinese 5 Spice and really elevate the sandwich.
7. You must toast your baguette. The crunch is part of the full Banh Mi experience. Additionally, you don’t want the inside of the sandwiches to get soggy.
8. Preheat the grill to high heat. I experimented using medium-high and high and high delivered the best sear and most tender pork. As always, don’t add the pork until the grill reaches full temperature.
9. Clean the grill. The pork is sliced thinly and cooks in a matter of minutes so it’s crucial that your grill is clean. If the pork sticks to the grill grates, it will be tough to flip and you’ll likely wind up overcooking it.
10. Do not overcook the pork. The pork should be tender, not dry. You only need to cook the pork slices a couple minutes per side, so work in batches as needed so you can really pay attention. The first side of the pork will likely be deeply seared and the second side will not have as much color because the pork will be done cooking. DO NOT wait to remove the pork until the second side is deeply seared too. Keep in mind that the grill make cook the pork unevenly, so remove the pork slices as needed.
    11.Switch on your oven vent if grilling the pork indoors. Things may get a little smoky, so start running the vent as the grill pan preheats.

    

Variations:

1. Use a long baguette: If you can’t find short baguettes, use long baguettes, assemble, then slice.
2. Make it spicy: Add extra chili garlic paste to the chili mayo or marinade, leave the seeds inside the jalapeño peppers, pile on extra jalapeño slices and/or drizzle the Vietnamese Sandwiches with sriracha.
3. Omit the chilies: On the opposite end of the spectrum, if you are sensitive to heat, omit the chilies and/or the chili sauce in the mayonnaise.
4. Add extra vegetables: Feel free to add extra veggies such bell peppers, mushrooms, tomatoes, avocados, pickled red onion, etc. – whatever sounds good to you. You can also substitute classic red radishes for the daikon radish, just be aware that they are more potent.
5. Add extra herbs: In addition to cilantro, try fresh mint, green onions and/or Thai basil.
6. Go vegetarian: Swap the pork for marinated tofu cut into strips or grilled tempeh cut into thin strips, or even mushrooms. For vegan, you can also swap the mayonnaise for Veganize if you wanted to avoid eggs as well.
7. Chicken Banh Mi: Marinate whole chicken breasts or thighs instead of the pork. DO NOT thinly slice the chicken before marinating or it will dry out. Instead, grill the chicken, rest for 10 minutes, then thinly slice.
8. Use Vietnamese cold cuts: In addition to the pork or instead of, use Vietnamese “Brawn” (Thi Nguoi) and/or Cha Lua Vietnamese Pork Loaf.
9. Banh Mi pork meatballs: These soft meatballs are gently poached in Vietnamese broth which makes them easy to “smash” into the baguette.

How to Store?

1. Store the sandwich fixings, bread, and pork in separate containers and assemble your sandwiches throughout the week.
2. Assembled sandwiches should be stored in an airtight container in the fridge. Once assembled, the sandwiches are best eaten within three days. The bread won’t be as crusty, but still delicious.