Banh Mi - Home Made!

I am addicted to eating Banh mi, I confess. Every Saturday, before I head to the studio to paint, I stop by Nhu Lan Bakery to pick up a grilled pork sandwich (#4). I love the tang of the picked carrots and daikon over the sweet grilled lemongrass pork. At about $5 a sandwich, it's a pretty economical weekly treat.

This Saturday was so rainy, I didn't want to walk to the bakery or to visit the studio. I sat at home dreaming about the accustomed sandwich all day, when I suddenly thought, "why not make my own?" The ingredients are fairly simple - pork, bread and pickled veggies. All I have to do is to sautee the pork and make a quick pickle. So I set out to the local grocery to pick up ingredients.

I purchased the following:

3 Mexican bolillo roll - because they didn't have Vietnamese or French Baguettes
2 packs butterflyed pork chops
1- daikon radish
1 large carrot
1 bunch of cilantro
1 bottle of vinegar

At home I had the following:

3-5 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp hoisin sauce
1 tbsp sriracha sauce
1 tbsp dark soy sauce
1 tbsp honey
2 tsp fish sauce
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp corn starch

I came home and sliced the pork into thin strips about 1/4" wide by 2 " long. I mixed the pork strips with honey, hoisin sauce, sriracha, soy sauce, honey, fish sauce, and corn starch. I let it marinate in the fridge for an hour. Then I sauteed the pork strips in some oil until they were lightly caramelized. *To get the authentic lemongrass flavor, I would recommend this recipe, which looks amazing.

While the pork was marinating, I followed the directions on this recipe to pickle the veggies. Basically peel and julienne cut the daikon and carrots into large strips. I cut mine into thick matchsticks. The restaurant makes them even thicker and longer. Add sugar, vinegar and salt to about 2-3 cuts of warm water to dissolve. I like my pickles kind of sour so I added more vinegar and sugar. Place the cut veggies in a class container and pour the brine liquid over the vegetables until they are submerged. Cover and refrigerate for about an hour.

To make the bread flaky like a Vietnamese baguette, I sliced the bolillo bread and place them cut side down in a caste iron pan over low heat for about 3-4 minutes. The surface will crisp up and turn golden. Flip them back on to the crust side, and turn off the heat. The outside will toast nicely.

Assembling the sandwich is the best part. I cram as much meat as I can onto one of the bread slices. Then I top it with cilantro and the pickled carrots and daikon. I liberally drizzle everything with Sriracha, and top it with the other half of the bread. The toasted bolillos are super crusty and really resembles the Vietnamese baguette. This took about an hour to make, but I have enough pickles to make sandwiches again next week (they keep for about 2 weeks in the fridge). Yum!