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=Banh Mi: Colorful Saigon Sandwich=


Banh Mi means 'french sandwich' in Vietnamese.  Maybe it started as a 'kitchen sink' recipe in Vietnam, where various leftovers would be tossed into a sandwich to finish them up. Now Banh Mi is sought after by many for the unique and delicious flavors.  There are many different types of Banh Mi sandwich, ranging from chunked BBQ grilled pork, sliced pork pate, shredded grilled chicken, to grilled and smoked fish, sardine, meatball, chinese-style sausage, and tripe.  

Also quite varied from restaurant to restaurant (and chef to chef) are the choices of bread.  It is customary to use a toasted french baguette or french bread, because of the textures these breads provide: banh mi tastes best when the outer crust of the bread is firm but not overly hard, and the inner part of the bread is fluffy and light like a yeast roll, that is, one which is not overly dense or spongy.  The reason for this is that the crust's firmness provides a barrier for the moisture of the sandwich, and the lightness of the inner bread does not overwhelm the flavors of the sandwich, which would otherwise make the sandwich taste overly 'bready'.  Still no sandwich tastes better than the flavor of the bread, so make sure the bread is fresh and flavorful (preferably one from a bakery).  Using a store bought bread yields unpredictable results as they tend to taste overly processed or they taste like the plastic or paper bag in which they are kept. 


To make a Banh Mi sandwich, begin with a toasted french baguette.  Cut the sandwich in half lengthwise and either remove excess bread from the inner portion of the sandwich by digging out a cavity in the two halves or press into the bread to form trenches. These depressions are where we will put the mayonaise and ingredients.

The following are different ingredients used to make banh mi.  Put in as many as you wish in your sandwich - each is different.  The first list of ingredients are 'typical banh mi' ingredients, the second list are meat ingredients, and the third list are optional, other ingredients.  Have fun.

Standard Banh Mi ingredients:
* pickled julienned carrot
* julienned pickling/english cucumber (not the american one)
* cilantro leaves and stalks
* super-thin jalepeno slices

Meats:

* BBQ pork
* BBQ chicken
* sliced pork pate 
* sliced pork meatloaf
* BBQ beef
* Vegetable-based texturizers (tofu-tvp,wheatgluten,seitan,sueyu,suegai)
* Meatball
* sliced chinese/thai/vietnamese style sausage (waxy kind)
* sardine
* tripe
* smoked salmon
* grilled or fried white fish

Other ingredients:

* sliced turnip
* pickled julienned daikon radish
* handful of green onion
* sliced, patted dry tomatoes
* sprigs of mint
* sprigs of basil
* shredded cabbage
* sprout mix
* lettuce

Sauces for sandwich:

* Tip: Use Japanese Mayonnaise (Cupie Mayo - squeeze bottle with a baby on front)

* (Mayso) Mayo and soy
* (Maysocha) Mayo, soy, sriracha chili sauce
* (Maycha) Mayo, sriracha
* (Hot Mom) Mayo, 'Lao Gan Ma' Sad, Old grandmother chinese hot sauce (also great w french fries)
* Any of the above with lime (or lemon) juice and sugar
* BBQ sauce and mayo


Pickling the vegetables:

sprinkle light salt over julienned vegetables, wait 5 min, rinse with cold water.  Mix equal parts of water, coconut vinegar (or white) with natural sugar (or white).  Bring to a boil, cool and pour over vegetables.  Store mixture using an appropriate container (glass, polycarbonate, hdpe 5+) in the refrigerator.

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Author: mchrisneglia AT yahoo DOT com, March 24, 2004

Author's Notes: please contribute!