Banh Mi = Ridiculously Good Sandwich

Tonight I'm making a special request: my boyfriend Jason asked me to cook up some delicious Vietnamese sandwiches (or "banh mi").  I remember the first time I tried Vietnamese sandwiches at this hole in the wall in New York with my friend Ben when I was in my first year of college.  I was blown away by how much flavor you could get for $2.25!  The mayo and baguette balanced perfectly against the spice of the chili, the pickled carrot and daikon, and the fish oil, which otherwise could have been overwhelming.  The cilantro topped the whole thing off.  What a combo of salty, sour, and sweet....these things were like the perfect blend of east and west!  With all that mayo and bread, I couldn't belive they were really Vietnamese so I looked it up on wikipedia (aka the source of all knowledge).  Apparently they came about when the French controlled indochina - nice to know that at least one good thing came from those colonial exploits!

To make the sandwiches, I started last night by making a white vinegar marinade.  To a small bowl of vinegar, I added a spoonful or so of sugar, a healthy dose of fish oil (maybe a tablespoon?) because I like things super spicy (PS - fish oil is awesome - totally worth the purchase - it wasn't until I invested in some fish oil that my thai food started really tasting like thai food), and a teaspoon or so of soy sauce.  I then crushed 3 big garlic cloves and threw them in with some salt and pepper.  I shredded up 3 big carrots and an onion and put them in a bowl with 1/2 of the mixture.  With the other half of the vinegar mixture, I marinaded pork tenderloins.




carrots and onions in the marinade

Once the stuff is marinading there's really very little to do.  Tonight, I sauteed the marinaded pork until it browned.  Then, I cut the baguettes in half, toasted them, and put mayo on one side.  Finally, I piled on carrots, raw cucumbers sliced into matchsticks, cilantro, and the pork.  I poured the marinade over the top of the sandwiches, using as much as I could get away with without making the bread soggy.  Finally, I added the always clutch sriracha sauce.  Viola!  Delicious Vietnamese sandwiches to eat!  We finished it off with a desert of fresh mangos.



These banh mi are starting to come together!