Banh mi are the hottest sandwiches in America, and you don’t have to find a Vietnamese Banh mi shop to enjoy one. You have most of the ingredients at any decently stocked market in the America! The trick here is to make the roasted shaved pork at home. The secret is brining the pork before roasting! You can apply chicken breast to the recipe as well! Try to find very light, airy baguettes or French rolls. A good banh mi should be crispy on the outside and light and airy in the middle. Stay away from the bread that will shred the roof of your mouth!
| Level: | Intermediate |
| Total: | 2 hr 15 min |
| Active: | 45 min |
| Yield: | 1 long or 3 short sandwiches |
Ingredients
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 shallots, sliced
- 3 tablespoons (45 milliliters) fish sauce
- 3 tablespoons (45 grams) sugar
- 1 tablespoon (30 grams) minced lemongrass
- Heavy pinch black pepper
- 1 pound (450 grams) pork butt, sliced paper-thin against the grain
- Oil, for cooking
- 1/2 cup (95 grams) sugar
- 1/2 cup (90 milliliters) red wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon black peppercorns
- 2 to 3 cloves garlic
- 5 to 6 sprigs fresh cilantro
- 1 1/2 cups (330 grams) matchstick carrots
- 3 tablespoons (45 grams) mayonnaise
- 6 ounces pork pate
- 1 long French baguette (not sourdough), split and lightly toasted
- 1/4 cup (45 grams) fresh cilantro leaves
- 1 red jalapeno, sliced very thin
- 1 large English cucumber, shaved into ribbons with a peeler
- 2 teaspoons (10 milliliters) light soy sauce
Instructions
- For the roast pork: Combine the garlic, shallots, fish sauce, sugar, lemongrass, black pepper and 2 tablespoons (30 grams) water in a blender; puree until combined, about 20 seconds. Place the pork in a medium bowl, then pour the marinade over the top and massage well. Marinate for at least 1 hour.
- Heat a medium skillet on high heat and add some oil. When you see white wisps of smoke, saute the pork until cooked through, about 5 minutes.
- For the pickled carrots: Combine the sugar, vinegar, salt, peppercorns and garlic in a small saucepan over medium heat. Cook, stirring constantly, until the sugar and salt have dissolved, then remove it from the heat. Add the cilantro and carrots and stir to coat them in the pickling mixture. Let stand until the carrots have softened, at least 30 minutes or up to overnight in the refrigerator. Drain them well and set aside. You can make this days ahead and keep refrigerated in an airtight container.
- For the banh mi build: Combine the mayonnaise and pate in a bowl, then spread on the top and bottom of the toasted bread. Top it with the cilantro leaves, chiles, cucumber ribbons, pickled carrots and the grilled pork. There may be some leftover pork, so smash it into your mouth and enjoy while building the banh mi. Sprinkle with the soy sauce and close with the upper half of the baguette.
Reviews
Didn’t use pate, just mayonnaise and hoisin. Grilled the pork and it came out delicious! This banh mi is an all time favorite!
Just watching him ruining the pate with the mayo made me upset totally Americanizing it.
I was really looking forward to enjoying this sandwich after watching him make it on the show. However, it wasn’t what I was looking for. The pickled veggies were way too sweet and the marinate for the pork was also too sweet for my taste. The pate in the mayo wasn’t good, but I’ll chalk that up to never having eaten pate before, and I guess I just don’t like pate. Anyway, it was an ok sandwich, but I won’t be making it again.