i am a food blog

I think bánh mì, or Vietnamese sandwiches might be my favourite sandwich. Typically, they’re made on light, crackly baguettes with fluffy, cloud-like insides – the perfect canvas for rich, savoury meats, sweet and sour pickled carrots and daikon, fresh cilantro and spicy jalapeños. The combination of flavours and textures is something that most people fall in love with, once they’re tried them.

Of course, you can easily stop by a Vietnamese deli and pick up a couple of sandwiches for a song, but sometimes, you just want to assemble everything at home. This is especially good for people who like making up their own combinations. If you want to go light on the cilantro or heavy on the pâté, assembling your own sandwiches at home is the way to go.

If you’re lucky, you live near a Vietnamese deli that’ll sell you everything you need: Vietnamese baguettes, pâté, ham, headcheese and even Vietnamese mayonnaise. Lots of Vietnamese families will do just this and make their own sandwiches at home (or so I’m told by my husband). If you don’t live remotely near any Asian stores, you can make a pretty tasty approximation of this addictive sandwich from ingredients you should be able to find at your local grocery store.

The daikon and carrot pickles are the one thing you shouldn’t skip out on. Daikon can be found at most grocery stores (at least here on the West Coast). When I was buying mine, my cashier had to ask one of her co-workers what it was, but he knew instantly.

Cashier 1: Hey, dude, what is this?!
Cashier 2: It’s daikon. 4598.
Cashier 1: Daikon, huh? That’s an awesome name. It looks like daikon. Daikon the DESTROYER!
Cashier 2: I’m totally calling myself Daikon the Destroyer from now on!

I kind of want to start a webcomic about Daikon the Destroyer now. He’d go around destroying all sandwiches because they’d be his mortal enemies.

Destroyers aside, find yourself some daikon and make these! They’re perfect on picnics or as midnight snacks. And remember, there are no hard and fast rules – the beauty of sandwiches is that they are filled with whatever it is that you love.

I collaborated with West Elm on this post: check out the recipe and links to the items I used on their blog, Front & Main!

i am tasty, i am portable: i am banh mi!

Easy Banh Mi Sandwich Recipe
makes 4 sandwiches

Sandwich

• fresh baguette, cut into 4 equal pieces
• pork pâté, to taste
• Kewpie mayo, to taste
• 8-12 thin slices of head cheese
• 8-12 thin slices of ham
• quick-pickled daikon and carrots
• fresh cilantro sprigs
• sliced jalapeños, if desired

Quick Pickled Carrots and Daikon

• 1 large carrot, julienned
• 2” piece of daikon, julienned
• 1⁄2 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoon sugar

Make the pickles: put the carrots and daikon into a bowl and sprinkle on the salt and sugar. After 15 minutes, rinse off the pickles, drain well and place in the fridge until ready to assemble sandwiches

Slice the baguette lengthwise, but not all the way through. Lightly toast and spread a thin layer of pâté on the bottom and a thin layer of mayo on the top. Layer on slices of headcheese, then ham. Top with pickled daikon and carrot, cilantro and sliced jalapeños, if using. Enjoy!

Note: You can easily buy Vietnamese head cheese and ham at your local Asian grocery store, but if you don’t happen to have one close by, most delis will have headcheese and uncured ham, both which work wonderfully. A lot of the banh mi flavors come from the pâté and pickled carrots and daikon, so don’t skip out on those!

PS – Molly made some awesome bánh mì hot dogs! Check them out!

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