Banh Mi Sandwiches

Hello, Welcome! Today’s recipe is one of my favorite Vietnamese foods: Banh Mi Sandwiches. We are simplifying the recipe by omitting the traditional pâté and we are going to roast and broil the slices of pork, rather than firing up the grill. Though, come summer, this recipe will be on repeat at my house. While the oven and broiler do a great job, the flavor of the marinated pork grilled over fire cannot be beat. You can do most of this recipe a day ahead, so let’s get to it!

Pork Marinade

It will be best to let the pork marinate overnight, same with the quick pickles, but if that’s not an option for you, let the pork and the pickles marinate for at least 2 hours. For the pork marinade, whisk together sugar, soy sauce, minced garlic, lemongrass paste, minced shallot, fish sauce, sesame oil, fresh ground black pepper, and grapeseed oil. Set the marinade aside.

Slice the 1.5-2 pound boneless pork shoulder against the grain, into 1/4-inch thick slices. Place the sliced pork in a large zipper lock bag. Pour the marinade in the bag. Squish the bag around to get the marinade to coat all the pork slices. Then seal the bag, pushing out the air. Place the bag in the fridge for at a couple hours or overnight.

Pickled Vegetables

On to the pickled vegetables. Typically, it’s grated carrot and daikon that go on a Banh Mi Sandwich, but I am using regular radishes instead of daikon. Use a food processor with the grater blade to grate 2 medium carrots and about 6 radishes.

Transfer the grated veggies to a fine mesh strainer placed over a bowl. Sprinkle the veggies with 2 teaspoons of sugar and 1 teaspoon kosher salt. Then massage in the sugar and kosher salt. Let the grated, salted carrots and radishes sit while we prepare the brine.

In a saucepan over medium-high heat, heat 1 cup water, 1 cup vinegar and 1/2 cup sugar. Cook until the sugar is dissolved and the liquid is steamy. Cut the heat.

Squeeze the veggies to release and drain as much liquid as possible. Then, pour out the veggie juices and transfer the grated veggies to the bowl. Pour the hot brine over the veggies, cover and refrigerate until ready to use.

Roasting the Pork

When you’re ready to make the Banh Mi Sandwiches, pull the bag of marinating pork out of the fridge and arrange the oven racks to the center and top third positions, preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Place a wire rack in a sheet tray. Then, transfer the pork out of the marinade and arrange the slices of pork in a single layer on the wire rack.

Bake the pork on the center rack for about 15 minutes, until the center of the largest slice reaches 150 degrees F on an instant read thermometer. Switch the oven to broil and place the tray on top third rack and broil until the pork gets charred in some spots. Flip the pork slices over and char the other side. All told, the broil portion of cooking will take 5-10 minutes.

Let the pork sit and we can prepare the baguette and toppings.

Assembling the Banh Mi Sandwiches

You want to use a nice French-style baguette for Banh Mi Sandwiches. I like to put the baguette in the oven at 375 degrees F for about 7 minutes, until the crust gets crispy, but not hard toasted.

Slice the baguette into 8 to 9-inch pieces, then slice each piece lengthwise – almost all the way through, leave one side attached. For the toppings, we have mayonnaise, cucumber spears, sliced jalapeño, cilantro, our pickled veggies and soy sauce.

To make this Banh Mi easier to bite, I like to slice the slices of pork into strips. Now, we are ready to assemble! Spread a good amount of mayo on the bottom half of the baguette. Then top with the pork strips. Next the pickled veggies. Squeeze the brine out of the pickles as you add them to the sandwich. I am planning to have leftover pickles and I want to store them covered in the brine in the fridge.

Top the pickles with cucumber spears and jalapeño slices. Drizzle on a little soy sauce. Then top the sandwich with cilantro leaves.

Squeeze the Banh Mi Sandwich closed and use a serrated knife to slice in half. And that’s it!

Banh Mi Sandwiches are the perfect handheld way to enjoy Vietnamese flavors: you have the caramelized sweet/savory flavor of the pork, the vinegary pickles, cool cucumber and cilantro, the mayo really adds a nice pop of flavor and richness, the bread is tender on the inside with a flaky, shatteringly crisp crust. So, so good!

If you’ve been following the blog for a bit, you know that Vietnamese is one of my favorite cuisines because it highlights the umami-rich flavor combinations of salty, sweet and sour; and the use of fresh raw veggies and herbs creates super satisfying texture combinations with crunchy, chewy and soft bites. Banh Mi Sandwiches are a perfect example! If you want another perfect example, try my Bún Chả (Vietnamese Pork Patties) or Grilled Pork Noodle Bowl (bún thịt nướng). Thanks for joining me today, take care and be well. xo Kelly

Key Equipment

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Banh Mi Sandwiches

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Dinner, Main Course, Lunch – Vietnamese

By Original Recipe by Delish – Serves: Makes 4 Sandwiches

Prep Time: 20 Minutes, plus overnight marinate time – Cooking Time: 20 Minutes – Total Time: 40 Minutes, plus overnight marinate time

Caramelized, Vietnamese-marinated pork with pickled carrots and radishes; fresh cucumber and cilantro with mayo between a French Baguette.

Ingredients

• Pork Marinade
• 1 Medium Shallot, finely chopped
• 4 Cloves Garlic, finely chopped
• 1/4 cup Granulated Sugar
• 1.5 tbsp. Fish Sauce
• 1 tbsp. Neutral Oil, such as Vegetable or Grapeseed
• 1 tbsp. Sesame Oil
• 1 tbsp. Soy Sauce
• 1 tsp. Lemongrass Paste
• Freshly Ground Black Pepper
• 1.5-2 lb. Boneless Pork Shoulder or Roast, cut into 1/4-inch thick strips against the grain
• Pickled Vegetables
• 1-2 Medium Carrots (about 8 oz.), grated
• 6 Large Radishes (about 8 oz.), grated
• 1/2 cup, plus 2 tsp. Granulated Sugar, divided
• Kosher Salt
• 1 cup Distilled White Vinegar
• 1 cup Water
• Assembly
• 2 French Baguettes, cut into 4 (8-9") loaves, cut lengthwise, leaving hinge intact
• Mayonnaise
• 1 Small Cucumber, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch thick spears
• 1 Jalapeño, cut into 1/2-inch thick slices
• Cilantro Leaves
• Soy Sauce

Instructions

Pork Marinade

1

Whisk together sugar, soy sauce, minced garlic, lemongrass paste, minced shallot, fish sauce, sesame oil, fresh ground black pepper, and grapeseed oil. Set the marinade aside.

2

Place the sliced pork in a large zipper lock bag. Pour the marinade in the bag. Squish the bag around to get the marinade to coat all the pork slices. Then seal the bag, pushing out the air. Place the bag in the fridge for at a couple hours or overnight.

Pickled Vegetables

3

Transfer the grated veggies to a fine mesh strainer placed over a bowl. Sprinkle the veggies with 2 teaspoons of sugar and 1 teaspoon kosher salt. Then massage in the sugar and kosher salt. Let the grated, salted carrots and radishes sit while we prepare the brine.

4

In a saucepan over medium-high heat, heat 1 cup water, 1 cup vinegar and 1/2 cup sugar. Cook until the sugar is dissolved and the liquid is steamy. Cut the heat.

5

Squeeze the veggies to release and drain as much liquid as possible. Then, pour out the veggie juices and transfer the grated veggies to the bowl. Pour the hot brine over the veggies, cover and refrigerate until ready to use.

Banh Mi Sandwiches

6

When you're ready to make the Banh Mi Sandwiches, pull the bag of marinating pork out of the fridge and arrange the oven racks to the center and top third positions, preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Place a wire rack in a sheet tray. Then, transfer the pork out of the marinade and arrange the slices of pork in a single layer on the wire rack.

7

Bake the pork on the center rack for about 15 minutes, until the center of the largest slice reaches 150 degrees F on an instant read thermometer. Switch the oven to broil and place the tray on top third rack and broil until the pork gets charred in some spots. Flip the pork slices over and char the other side. All told, the broil portion of cooking will take 5-10 minutes.

8

To make this Banh Mi easier to bite, slice the slices of pork into strips.

9

Spread a good amount of mayo on the bottom half of the baguette. Then top with the pork strips. Next the pickled veggies. Squeeze the brine out of the pickles as you add them to the sandwich.

10

Top the pickles with cucumber spears and jalapeño slices. Drizzle on a little soy sauce. Then top the sandwich with cilantro leaves.

11

Squeeze the Banh Mi Sandwich closed and use a serrated knife to slice in half.

Notes

If you think you might have leftover pickled veggies, save the brine to store them covered in the brine in the fridge.

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