Banh Mi Vietnamese Style Sandwich

I was first introduced to this amazing sandwich while watching Food Network's The Great Food Truck Race. One of the top contestants, Nom Nom Truck, came up winning almost every challenge by selling Banh Mi sandwiches from their funky cool food truck. People from all cities went crazy for these sandwiches! I knew this was something I needed to try. While I'm still on the search to try an authentic Banh Mi sandwich, the best I can do right now is attempt to make one myself. I'm not sure if this recipe is authentic, but I will say that it is delicious!

The only change I would make to the recipe is to reduce the amount of sesame oil in the sandwich sauce. I found it to be a little overpowering (as sesame oil can be). I have reflected my reduction in sesame oil below. Enjoy!

Banh Mi

Choice of Protein:
Portabella mushroom caps, sautéed
Grilled Chicken
Or
Shredded Pulled Pork

Marinated Veggies
1 carrot, sliced into sticks
1 daikon (white) radish, sliced into sticks
Small pot of boiling water for blanching veggies
Small bowl of ice water for cooling veggies
1 cup rice vinegar
1/2 cup fresh lime juice
1/2 cup cold water

Sandwich Sauce
1/2 cup chilled lime juice
2 teaspoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon fish sauce
1/4 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
2 tablespoons canola oil
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1/3 cup white sugar
1/3 cup cold water

Garnishes
Mayo to taste
1 jalapeno pepper, thinly sliced
8 sprigs fresh cilantro with stems
1 medium cucumber, sliced into thin strips
2 sprigs fresh Thai basil


Bread
2 (7 inch) French bread baguettes, split lengthwise

Directions:

1. Have your mushrooms, chicken, or pork cooked thoroughly and set aside. Plunge the carrot and radish sticks into the boiling water and after 30 seconds, remove them and plunge them into a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking. In a separate bowl, stir together the rice vinegar, 1/2 cup of lime juice and 1/2 cup cold water. Transfer the carrot and radish to the vinegar and lime marinade and let them soak for at least 15 minutes, longer if it's convenient.

2. In a small bowl, stir together the remaining lime juice, soy sauce, fish sauce, sesame oil, canola oil, garlic, 1/3 cup sugar and 1/3 cup water. This is the sandwich sauce.


3. To assemble sandwiches, spread mayo on each half of the French loaves, then sprinkle a little of the sandwich sauce on each side. Place your protein onto the bottom half of each roll and sprinkle with a little more sauce. Top with a few slices of jalapeno, a few sticks of carrot and radish (minus the marinade), cucumber, basil and cilantro. Close with the tops of the bread and serve.

Source:   adapted from Allrecipes