Vietnamese Banh Mi Sandwich

I remember going to Lee’s Sandwich and order the grilled bbq pork sandwich and getting that cup of iced crack coffee. Well, those days are long gone since I moved to Barcelona. Furthermore, now that I know how to make them, it’s better than any other sandwich I’ve eaten.

There are many components to this sandwich so prepping the day before is ideal. Here is my version of my favorite banh mi sandwich. Happy Cooking!

The Night Before

Pickling The Vegetables

• 1 carrot, peeled and julienned
• 1 cucumber, peeled and julienned (discard the flesh and seeds)
• 1/4 lb daikon radish, peeled and julienned (if you don’t have daikon, that’s okay)
• 2 jalapeno peppers, sliced
• 2 tsp + 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 1 1/2 cups warm water
• 1 1/2 cups rice vinegar or regular white vinegar

Instructions:

1. In a large bowl, mix carrots, cucumber and daikon radish (about 1 large daikon), peeled and julienned, and 2 jalapeño peppers, sliced with 2 tsp sugar and 1 tsp kosher salt. Toss together until the carrots, cucumber and daikon begin to soften.
2. Rinse under cold water and lightly squeeze excess water.
3. In a large bowl, mix together 1 1/2 cups warm water, 1 1/2 cups rice vinegar, and 1/2 cup sugar and stir until sugar is dissolved.
4. Transfer veggies into a large jar and pour the liquid mixture making sure to cover all.
5. Store in the refrigerator

Marinating The Lemongrass Pork

Ingredients

• 800 grams of pork shoulder or pork butt, sliced to about 1/2 inch thick pieces
• 5 cloves garlic
• 2 shallots, roughly chopped
• 2 lemongrass stalks (white part only)
• 1 tbsp dark soy sauce
• 1/4 cup fish sauce
• 3 tbsp oil
• Ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup honey

Instructions

1. Combine all ingredients into a bowl and marinate for at least 24 hours.
2. Grilling is the best way to go but we all don’t have bbq’s so you can either cook it in the oven or in a pan.

What Kind Of Bread Do I Get?

Any style baguette bread to your liking! I like to get the bread the day of so it’s at its freshest. However, if you do get bread the day before, be sure to freeze it so it doesn’t become stale.

Other Additional Ingredients

• mayonnaise
• cilantro

Time To Assemble

1. Cook the lemongrass pork either on the grill, pan, or oven. Typical method is a charcoal bbq but we all don’t have the luxury of doing it that way
2. Toast your baguette in the oven (especially if you have it frozen)
3. Spread mayonnaise on the bread
4. Place your cooked lemongrass pork in the sandwich
5. Top off with pickled vegetables and jalapeños
6. Garnish with cilantro
7. Voila! Enjoy your banh mi!