Banh Mi

This Vietnamese sandwich brings so many flavors together harmonioisly, it is basically perfect. Sweet, spicy, savory, accent of fresh herbs…. not to mention pork as it’s protein….. an all time great sandwich. One of the amazing things about my recipe here, is you actually get three recipe components you can use in several other dishes (it’s the recipe version of Inception)! The “cole slaw” is great on its own, but the sweet and spicy mayo I use lots of different ways. Try it with sushi, crab cakes, spring rolls, any sandwich etc. Let me know what uses you come up with.

Ingredients :

(sandwich components)

french rolls or baguette

4 thinly sliced boneless pork chops

8 cilantro stalks

1/2 english cucumber, thinly sliced

1 jalapeño , sliced (optional)

(condiment)

1/4 cup mayonaise

1 tbsp thai chili sauce

1 tbsp srirachi sauce (can use less if not a fan of spicy)

(marinade)

juice and peel from 1/2 of a lemon

8 thin slices fresh ginger

1 shallot , sliced

3 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 cup sugar

2 tbsp sesame oil

3 tbsp olive oil

5 tbsp soy sauce

1 tsp ground pepper

1 tbsp thai chili sauce

(cole slaw)

1/4 cup red pepper, thinly sliced

1/4 cup bean sprouts

1/4 cup carrots, shredded or julienned

1/4 cup purple cabbage, shredded

2 tbsp balsamic vinegar

Directions :

Combine all the marinade ingredients together in a bowl. Stir, then add the pork chops and refrigerate for at least an hour. Combine the condiment ingredients together in seperate small bowl, stirring until well blended, then refrigerate until needed. And in yet another bowl, combine all the cole slaw ingredients together and mix. Remove the pork chops from the marinade, and in a skillet on medium heat, cook the pork chops for about 1-2 minutes per side depending on the thickness. For sandwich assembly, I like to apply the sweet and spicy mayo to both sides of the bread, then layer it in order from the cucumber slices, pork chops, cole slaw, cilantro and jalapeño. Enjoy!