These spicy, crunchy sandwiches are a staple in Vietnamese food culture and are perfect on a warm summer’s day. It may seem complicated when you pick one up from a food truck but it’s actually quite approachable with lots of little bits that can be done ahead. In other words, its a recipe that’s made for lockdown, doing the odd bit here and there as working from home allows! The big benefit of doing this yourself is that it allows your to modulate the heat in this Sandwich. Traditionally, this is served with plenty of chillies and an extra layer of even more fresh chillies for those who want it. You prefer less heat? Go for it. You want to blow your head off? You do you.
The traditional Banh Mi is all about the layers, you want to group your layers carefully so you get the proper interplay or flavours and texture as you go. However,this doesn’t have to be a sandwich if you’d rather not. Can’t find a baguette that will work for your food preferences? Then turn it into a Banh Mi bowl with noodles or rice stir fried with chillies and a touch of soy sauce. It’s completely customisable, make this work for you – I guarantee you’ll love it!
- Makes: Serves 2-3
Ingredients
For the Pickles:
- 150g Sugar
- 180ml White Wine Vinegar
- ½ tsp Salt
- 2 Tbsp Sesame Seeds
- ½ Tbsp Sesame Oil
- 225g Celeriac*
- 275g Carrot
- 1 tsp Crushed Chillies
For the Seared Aubergines:
- 1 Medium Aubergines, thickly sliced
- 80ml Soy Sauce Substitute (see allergy note below)
- 6 Garlic Cloves, sliced
- 120g Red Onion, diced
- 2 Tbsp Vegan Fish Sauce
- 2 Tbsp Maple Syrup
- 1 Tsp Five Spice Powder
- 1 Star Anise
- 8g Dried Shiitake Mushrooms, soaked
- 3g Ginger, sliced
- 80ml Mushroom Soaking Liquid
- 2 Lime Leaves
For the Sandwiches:
- 6-inch Baguettes, split lengthwise**
- Vegan Mayo
- Sriracha
- ½ a cucumber, cut into thin slices
- Fresh Coriander
- Fresh Mint
- Red Chillies, thinly sliced (Optional)
- Vegan Pate (see my last post here)
Directions
Starting with your pickles, mix together everything except the vegetables in a large, non-metallic bowl until the sugar completely dissolves. Slice your vegetables into thin matchsticks and toss with your vinegar mix. Put to one side and leave standing at room temperature for at least 2 hours. If you’d like to do this ahead of time then cover and chill once the vegetables and sat at room temperature.
Your aubergines will need to marinade for at least 30 minutes so plan ahead here or, prep the night before, cover and place in the fridge for today. Start by shredding the mushrooms, ginger, and garlic. Heat your wok on a high heat with just a touch of oil and stir fry both the mushrooms and ginger till they just start to brown. Add about half a tbsp of your soy sauce substitute and continue to cook, stirring constantly, until the edges are browned and slightly crisp but do not let the ginger burn. place into a blender jug along with the rest of your Soy Sauce Substitute, fish sauce, maple syrup, five spice powder, and mushroom soaking liquid. Blend until completely smooth. Pour this marinade over your aubergine slices in a bowl and add the star anise and lime leaves. Stir well then cover and place in the fridge to marinade for at least an hour.
Once marinaded, shake off any excess from the slices and set the marinade to one side. Put your wok back on a high heat with a touch of oil until it starts to shimmer. Stir fry your aubergines on a high heat, stirring constantly, until the Aubergines start to sear and go completely soft. Stir in an extra tablespoon or so of your marinade then set to one side – we should now be ready to make your sandwiches.
Lightly toast the cut sides of your baguette. Spread a thick coat of pate on the bottom half, and mayo on the top half. Drizzle liberally (or to your taste) with Sriracha, particularly on the top half. Now that your baguette is prepped and ready for it’s fillings, this is your layering order starting on the bottom half and working up to the top of the sandwich;
- Aubergine Slices
- Drained, pickled vegetables
- handful of your fresh coriander and mint
- cucumber slices
- Red chillies (if using)
Repeat with each of your sandwiches as you finish prepping the bread.
Serve with more sriracha on the side for those who feel they really need it.
Notes
*Traditionally this should really be daikon but we’re not huge radish fans. Feel free to sub in daikon or english radishes if you’d rather
** We’ve really struggled to find gluten free baguettes that work well for this. However we’ve now had success with these mini-baguettes but do let me know if you find something else you prefer!
Allergy Notes; I’m going to keep saying this – Soy Sauce is NOT gluten free as the brewing process contains wheat. A good gluten free option is Tamari which normally contains little to no gluten, is slightly less salty, and thicker than soy sauce. As always, check your brand to make sure you’ve not accidentally picked up one of the few brands which uses gluten. We use coconut aminos in our house, while not quite as rich as soy sauce, it’s both gluten free and soy free but different brands vary tremendously – you may have to look around before finding one that suits you.
If you need to avoid all soy products then double check your fish sauce as most vegan versions contain soybeans – if you can’t get one without then skip it from the sauce entirely.
If the sesame seeds are an allergen for you then feel free to skip both the seeds and oil – the pickles will still work well!
