As I’ve mentioned before, about every two weeks I must satisfy an inherent Asian food craving—be it dumplings or soba noodles—I just have to add an oriental dish to our fortnightly menu rotation. Yesterday I woke up (at my usual 4:30AM) and felt utterly compelled to have bánh mì. Mr. and I hit the gym at around 5:30AM everyday and to kickstart our metabolisms we usually eat a cup of Dr. Mao’s Hot Herbal Cereal before training. That means come 8:30AM it’s practically lunchtime for us. So, around that time yesterday I started marinating pork tenderloin and pickling carrots and cucumber. Honoring the fact that it’s actually the hour of breakfast for most people, I decided to top these classic Vietnamese sandwiches with a couple of fried eggs—genius!

Thankfully, my dear friend and amazingly talented food stylist and photographer, Acirema Hernandez of Food That Looks Good, operates on my (sporadic) wavelength and made a swift impromptu appearance to capture all of this goodness. Enjoy.

Love,

LH

Photography and styling by Food That Looks Good.

Vietnamese Bánh Mì Sandwiches
Print Recipe
Servings
4
Servings
4
Vietnamese Bánh Mì Sandwiches
Print Recipe
Servings
4
Servings
4
Ingredients
Marinated Grilled Pork
Pickled Carrots and Cucumber
Siracha Vegenaise Mustard
Bánh mì:
Servings:
Instructions
To make the marinated grilled pork:
  1. Whisk together the fish sauce, honey, vegetable and sesame oil, brown sugar, soy sauce, garlic, ginger and Santa Maria Seasoning (or salt and pepper) in a small bowl until well combined.
  2. Gently pound pork tenderloin slices to ¼” flat with a meat pounder or rolling pin. Set aside and repeat with the remaining slices. Place the meat in a Ziploc bag and pour in the marinade. Seal the bag and shake it around to fully coat the pork. Marinate the pork in the refrigerator for 30-minutes.
  3. Heat a fry pan medium to high heat and grill tenderloin slices 2-minutes each side, adding the marinade on the second side. Plate and cover before assembling sandwiches.
To make the pickled carrots and cucumber:
  1. Warm the rice wine vinegar, sugar, salt and red pepper flakes in a small saucepan. When you have brought it to a simmer, whisk well to make sure that the sugar and salt have disintegrated.
  2. Transfer it to a bowl and let it cool completely. Add the carrots and cucumber and refrigerate until ready to serve.
To make the Siracha Vegenaise Mustard:
  1. In a small bowl mix together the grainy mustard, Siracha and Vegenaise. Set aside.
To assemble the bánh mì:
  1. Split the baguette portion without cutting all the way through (leave a hinge intact). Spread a generous layer of pâté and fill each sandwich with pork, pickled carrots and cucumbers, daikon radish, jalapeno and cilantro. Spread the top of the bread with Siracha Veganaise Mustard and more pâté if your heart so desires. Serve immediately.