The glorious banh mi

My wife wanted to eat banh mi tonight. She's also pregnant, so lately she's getting exactly what she wants. It was actually perfect because I had so many of the ingredients handy.
Pork belly from some kakuni I made earlier this week
Some pickled carrot and daikon I made months ago.
Cilantro is usually always readily available.
And some chicken liver pate I took home from work the other day.
I only had to run to the store to get bread and cucumber. The bread I got was a bolillo roll from Safeway (I usually try to avoid the Safeway by my house because it blows,) but the light airy bread was perfect. A little aioli and sriracha and it's done.
When I'm at a restaurant I usually get the pork bologna stuff, it's my favorite. Curious what all your opinions are on this Vietnamese delight, and how you guys like to eat them.

Here was dinner

glorious indeed. on par with your additions with a splash of maggi seasoning to boot. My workmates envy my sandwiches...

every time i see a new bahn mi shop, i always have to go in. i like pork with fried egg and extra pickled veg.

Despite hearing about it a lot, I've never had it. What is Maggie exactly?

liquid MSG

DaNk. Sold

I have one on my menu right now. Pastrami, chicken liver mousse, aioli, napa cabbage, pickled carrot, daikon, herbs, mustard & horseradish dressing of sorts (no oil), sesame. Roll from a local Vietnamese bakery.





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Maggi = a hydrolyzed wheat sauce of European origin, not entirely unlike Golden Mountain or synthetic soy sauce, with some chive/lovage-like notes to it...

JohnnyChance said:

Pastrami.

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:excuseme:

Maggi actually comes in different formulations depending on the country it's marketed to. I live in an area with many ethnic stores and have the Mexican and Asian versions. I think there's a polish formulation as well but seem to recall I didn't like that flavor profile as much.

Back to the main topic. Looks fantastic! Unfortunately I have no willpower and any place by me that has banh mi will also have Pho, and I can't pass up a good big bowl of Pho.

Actually Maggi is the name of the brand (from Switzerland), which is specialized in seasonings, not an actual product.

Maybe it was indeed polish and not seasoning

My favorite sandwich. I actually made this the other night. Homemade pickled veggies, homemade bread, and fresh grilled meat and tofu. It was a hit to say the least.

my favorite sandwich of all time. i started liking them because i could get them downtown oakland for less than $2. now the prices have ballooned to a $4ish.

where i live, they are $7. haha.

(my second favorite sando is the cubano)

Can someone post their pork marinade recipe? I've made them several times but curious of others recipes.

Me and my wife usually split a large pho and a banh mi. Our local spot splits our bowls and sandwiches on separate dishes. Really nice folks. Pho broth is super rich, I eat it like a French dip.

As far pork goes I'm a sucker for belly. And when I cook that it's a braising liquid rather than a marinade.
EP sugar, sake, mirin. 2 parts soy and bonito fashion. A handful of garlic ginger shallot rough chop.
After the meat is cooked, 6 hours or so, I take some of that liquid and reduce the piss out of it and use it to glaze the meat.

LifeByA1000Cuts said:

Maybe it was indeed polish and not seasoning

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ok wise guy - I'm fat fingering it on a tiny smart phone...

SousVideLoca said:

:excuseme:

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Are we limiting ourselves to traditional banh mi only?

Sorry pictures didn't work last time.

..

Not saying I wouldn't pound it into my word hole, JohnnyC, just surprised and curious. Looks amazing!

SousVideLoca said:

Not saying I wouldn't pound it into my word hole, JohnnyC, just surprised and curious. Looks amazing!

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There is a good sized Vietnamese community here. So I wouldn't want to compete directly with them with a traditional banh mi, nor could I on price. The line between a po'boy and a banh mi is pretty blurry anyway.

This one is actually influenced by Katz' Deli as they serve both pastrami (obviously) and chicken livers. If you ask nicely sometimes they will make you a sandwich of half pastrami and half livers.

Makes me think of some of the strange sandies you can get from Ike's Place, which has a location in San Diego now.

i would do a job on that!! ^^YUM!!

but i wouldnt call it a bahnMI. a true vietnamese sando has that perfect balance of textures, and more importantly the balance of hot, sour, sweet, savory, and fresh..i think a pastrami would throw a wrench in the balance.

how important is the liver pate for you guys? I'll est a banh mi without, sure I've had good ones that didn't have it. But I feel like my favorites always have it.

Danzo said:

how important is the liver pate for you guys? I'll est a banh mi without, sure I've had good ones that didn't have it. But I feel like my favorites always have it.

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Bánh mì without pork liver pâte: "Goddamn, that's good!"

Bánh mì with pork liver pâte: "Holy f*%#ing $hit, that's good!"

Any bánh mì after considerable alcohol intake: See bánh mì with pâte

Agreed.