An Inspired Cook

Joe and I recently visited a Vietnamese restaurant here in Albuquerque and tried a Bahn Mi sandwich. It was good but it didn’t have the explosion of flavors that I’ve always heard a great Banh Mi should have. I did a bit of research and came up with a recipe that I think captures the flavor that I was expecting. Banh Mi is a Vietnamese sandwich made with a crusty roll or a baguette, loaded with a marinated protein such as pork, chicken or beef, seasoned pickled vegetables and a tangy spicy dressing. One bite, and I knew this sandwich had exceeded my expectations by far. There are so many layers from the tangy salty flavors to the sweet and spicy tones. There are 3 preps that you need to do a few hours ahead to marinate the meat, brine the veggies and mix the sandwich spread. When it’s time to put it all together, you only need to stir fry the meat and lightly toast the baguette before building it. I hope this version of the Banh Mi Pork sandwich appeals to you as much as it did me!

My first prep is to assemble and measure out the meat marinade ingredients. You’ll need vegetable oil, fish sauce, oyster sauce, dried red chile flakes, sugar, shallots, garlic, lemon zest and lime zest. Assemble in a medium sized bowl and mix together.

My sandwich at the restaurant had tough pieces of pork that really took away from the experience. So I wanted my homemade Banh Mi to be easy to eat with tender pieces of pork so I chose pork loin. I sliced 1 pound of bite sized pieces of pork to add to the marinade.

Stir well so that the marinade touches every piece of pork. Place a lid or plastic wrap over top and refrigerate at least 1 hour to overnight.

Step 2, prep the rice vinegar mix to brine the vegetables. Traditionally Daikon radish is the primary vegetable used in a Banh Mi sandwich, however I could not find it at my local grocery store and I knew Joe would balk at anything with the word radish in it. So knowing that the veggies would absorb the pickling brine and taste, I chose a carrot, cucumber and bamboo shoots. I also considered jicama, bean sprouts and water chestnuts. The brining mix incudes seasoned rice vinegar, sesame oil, salt and sugar. That’s it!

I julienned the carrots and cucumbers and added some bamboo shoots from a can.

Whisk together the rice vinegar, sesame oil, salt and sugar together.

Pour the vinegar brine over the vegetables and stir. Place a lid or plastic wrap over them and refrigerate for at least an hour or up to 2 hours. If not using until the next day, drain the brine so that the vegetables remain crisp for your sandwich. You can reserve the liquid and use as a salad dressing or brine more vegetables.

The tangy sandwich spread is a mix of mayonnaise, chile sauce (Sambal Oelek), and fresh lime juice.

Whisk together and refrigerate.

When you are ready to make your sandwich, place the baguette or french rolls in a toaster oven to lightly toast. Heat a wok over medium high heat. Layer the cut up pieces of pork in a single layer in the wok. No additional oil needed, the oil in the marinade will allow the pork to cook without sticking to the bottom.

Let it cook several minutes until it has seared on the bottom. Then use clean tongs to turn each piece over to cook and sear the other side another 4 – 5 minutes. Cook in batches if necessary until you have all the pork cooked.

Begin to assemble your sandwich with the mayo spread on both sides of the roll. Top with a few of the pickled vegetables on each side. Then add the warm cooked pork on top.

Garnish with a few thinly sliced jalapenos on the side with sprigs of cilantro over top, it not only looks pretty but it tastes good too!

We had enough for 2 meals so the next night we made a deconstructed sandwich bowl with pickled vegetables on the bottom, topped with jalapeno slices, sprigs of cilantro and pieces of warm pork. We added a couple slices of the toasted baguette with tangy mayo on the side.

Banh Mi Pork (Inspired by The Woks of Life)

Baguette or Crusty Rolls (enough for 4 sandwiches)
1 pound Pork Loin, cut into bite size pieces
Thinly Sliced Jalapeno
Sprigs of Cilantro

Pork Marinade
2 tablespoons Vegetable Oil
2 tablespoons Fish Sauce
1 tablespoon Oyster Sauce
1/2 teaspoon Red Chile Flakes, I used NM Red Chile
2 teaspoons Sugar
1 Shallot, peeled and minced
2 cloves Garlic, grated on a microplane grater
Zest of 1 Lemon
Zest of 1 Lime

Combine all marinade ingredients together in a medium sized bowl. Add the cut up pork and stir to combine. Place a lid or cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate 2 hours or up to overnight.

Pickling Brine
1/2 large Carrot, julienned
1/2 large Cucumber, julienned
1/2 (8 ounce can) Bamboo Shoots
*Can substitute Daikon Radish, Jicama, Bean Sprouts, or Water Chestnuts for any of the above veggies to make 1 1/2 cups
3 tablespoons Seasoned Rice Vinegar
2 teaspoons Sesame Oil
1 tablespoon Sugar
1/2 teaspoon Salt

Combine the seasoned rice vinegar, sesame oil, sugar and salt in a bowl and whisk together. Pour into the cut up vegetables and stir. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate 1 – 2 hours. If not using within 2 hours, strain the pickling liquid from the veggies and reserve the liquid for other purposes. This allows the vegetables to remain crisp while having the absorbed taste from the brine. You can use the reserved brine as a salad dressing or to pickle additional vegetables.

Tangy Sandwich Spread
1/4 cup Mayonnaise
2 teaspoons Chili Sauce, I used Sambal Oelek
1 tablespoon Fresh Lime Juice

Whisk together the mayonnaise, chili sauce and fresh lime juice. Refrigerate up to 2 weeks.

To assemble Banh Mi Pork: Lightly toast baguette or crusty rolls in toaster oven. *If using baguette, slice 4 sandwich sized pieces. Heat a wok over medium high heat. Layer the cut up pieces of pork in a single layer in the wok. No additional oil needed, the oil in the marinade will allow the pork to cook without sticking to the bottom. Let it cook several minutes until it has seared on the bottom. Then use clean tongs to turn each piece over to cook and sear the other side another 4 – 5 minutes. Cook in batches if necessary until you have all the pork cooked.

Spread tangy sandwich spread on both sides of the baguette or crusty roll. Top with a few pickled vegetables on each side. Then add the warm cooked pork on top. Garnish with a few thinly sliced jalapenos and sprigs of cilantro over top.