Banh Mi Sandwich
Good morning, party people! I’m back!
It’s been quite the summer. Lots of moving parts which culminated in returning Kyle to Bucknell for his junior year and depositing Mattes at Lehigh for her freshman year. Gary and I are left with one in the nest but let’s be real, as a high school senior, Reed is already testing his wings. As a result, I am already “winging it” in the meal department (sorry, couldn’t resist).
As I’ve said (claimed) before, most summers I spend a good amount of time testing and tweaking recipes so that I have an arsenal ready to share with you when I return in the fall. This summer, I’m not sure what happened. I’m not even sure that we ate. I know that I threw together meals, relying upon lots of beautiful produce, but I can’t for the life of me rattle off actual recipes. In reflecting upon this, I realized that I actually cook more vegetarian meals than I share here but they tend to be off-the-cuff because I am my own target audience. Yes, the rest of my family eats these meals too, but when I cook vegetarian I am cooking for myself.
Taking into account this almost empty nest of mine, the fact that I never know who is going to be home for dinner, and that for years my sister has been begging me to feature more vegetarian recipes here on Sly Rooster, I’m going to do just that! I promise it will not be all vegetarian–not by a long shot–but you will see more vegetable-based mains, some sides and (not vegetarian but…) a wider variety of seafood dishes. Sly Rooster will be a more accurate reflection of how I am eating at home and the direction the country is moving for health, environmental, and affordability reasons.
With all that said, I am going to kick off with this perfect end of summer dinner (or delicious lunch anytime of the year)–Banh Mi Sandwich. Banh Mi is a Vietnamese submarine sandwich that traditionally includes both pate and pork along with pickled vegetables, hot peppers, cilantro, and mayo. It’s a street food hybrid of French and Vietnamese cuisine served on a soft roll.
I mention the roll because typically I would encourage you to find “a nice crusty baguette” but for this recipe you want a short sub roll with a thin crust and a soft, airy texture. And as far as the filling, you might be thinking that I’ve lost my mind. All this vegetarian talk and I’m kicking off with a pate + pork sandwich? Not so fast. This recipe from Love & Lemons replaces the traditional meat combo with thickly cut, marinated tofu slices that are pan fried before being layered on rolls spread thickly with sriracha-mayo* and topped with pickled vegetables and sprigs of cilantro. I added extra slices of jalapeño and radish sprouts on mine for good measure. The result is absolutely delicious and no one will miss the meat. Enjoy!
Note: If you don’t like mayo or want this recipe to be vegan, all you have to do is omit the sriracha-mayo. You can use just sriracha, a vegan spread substitute or nothing at all. Also, you may notice a couple of green beans peaking out in the photo below. I had some fresh from the farmer’s market and added them to the pickling mix.
Banh Mi Sandwich
Ingredients
- 1 14-oz pkg extra firm tofu
- olive oil for the pan
- 4 soft baguette/sub rolls sliced in half
- Good quality mayo or vegan mayo
- sriracha
- A few sprigs of cilantro per sandwich
Pickled Vegetables
- 1 small daikon, sliced into matchsticks or a couple of regular radish, sliced
- 2 small carrots, sliced into matchsticks
- 1/2 small cucumber, seeded and cut into matchsticks
- 1/2 jalapeño, thinly sliced slice the other half and serve raw, if you like it hot
- 1/4 c white wine vinegar more as needed
- 1/4 c rice wine vinegar more as needed
- pinches of sugar
- pinches of salt
Tofu Marinade
- 1 Tbls olive oil
- 2 Tbls tamari or soy sauce
- 1/2 lime, juiced + a little zest
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1/2 tsp minced fresh ginger
- Freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Make ahead: Place the daikon, carrots, cucumbers, and jalapeños in a medium jar with the white wine vinegar, rice vinegar, sugar, and salt. If the liquids don’t cover the veggies, add about 2 tablespoons water and more vinegar. I ended up doubling the pickling solution because I made a big jar (I love pickles!). Let chill for at least an hour, or store in the fridge for up to a week.
- Drain the tofu and slice it into 1/2-inch slices. Place it on a towel and gently pat dry to remove excess water.In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, tamari, lime juice and zest, garlic, ginger, and pepper. Place the tofu in a shallow pan and pour the marinade on top. Flip the tofu to fully coat it. Let the tofu marinate for at least 15 minutes.
- Combine sriracha and mayo in a small bowl, if desired.
- Heat a nonstick skillet to medium-high heat. Add a little oil to the pan and place the tofu pieces with enough space between each so that they’re not too crowded, working in batches if necessary. Without moving the tofu slices around too much, let them cook for a few minutes per side until they’re deeply golden brown and caramelized around the edges. Remove from heat and season to taste.
- Assemble sandwiches with the baguette, mayo or sriracha or sriracha-mayo (if using), tofu slices, pickled veggies, and cilantro, and serve with more sriracha and sliced jalapeños on the side if you like it hot.