My favorite two kinds of sandwiches are Banh Mi and eggplant parmesan. My friend Brenda and I used to cook up eggplant parm subs from scratch back in New York in the early 2000′s, but that was when I was in my early 20s and could spend four hours to make the fixings for a hot sandwich. I learned that eggplant parmesan is time-consumptive but very hard to mess up, which is a recipe for buying it from a sub shop.
Banh Mi on the other hand is very easy to make AND hard to find store-bought. For this of you who have never had Banh mi, first of all, that is crazy sad. Second of all, they’re a Vietnamese sandwich that is different combinations of delicious hot meat or pate, pickled veggies, fresh veggies, mayo, served on soft baguette. To learn more about Banh Mi, you can go to this great site passionately devoted to the sandwich: http://battleofthebanhmi.com.
As I have said before, I love cooking but do it once every nine weeks. My kitchen is basically a storage unit for pretty placemats I bought, and where I put find my weird trendy vitamins. That said, these days I have started making sandwiches more and more in my kitchen, and banh mi I’ve had more than once.
The way I make banh mi is buy chopping up the fresh vegetables and spices I need on a Sunday, then keeping them in plastic tupperware for the week, so I can just grab ingredients and toss them on the sandwich like it’s Subway. Those ingredients are:
• Sliced “picked” carrots (I quickly julienne two carrots and put them in a tupperware with rice vinegar and a half-teaspoon of sugar and a dash of salt).
• Sliced cucumber (I love cucumber. It wins the prize of Single Easiest Vegetable to Deal With, doesn’t it? So easy to slice and prepare.)
• Chopped cilantro (a controversial herb nearly every person close to me hates and thinks tastes like soap. But not me! And this is my sandwich! Bring it on!)
• Thinly sliced FRESH jalapeños (I discard the seeds, too spicy even for the likes of Indian me.)
• A bottle of Sriracha (an Asian hot sauce that they sell basically everywhere, don’t stress about this. You will find it at Stop & Shop.)
• A jar of plain old mayonnaise (don’t get fancy with it)
• A loaf of soft baguette
• A fresh rotisserie chicken from say, Whole Foods or your local supermarket, torn into pieces like a junkyard dog (keep the skin, for gods sake)
I assembled the sandwich with proportions to my liking, and then add torn-up rotisserie chicken and Sriracha. For some reason the sandwich tests best if you wrap it up in aluminum foil and let the hot chicken meat sit in the other ingredients. If you’re making leftovers, I leave all the ingredients cold except the chicken which I heat up for 30 seconds in the microwave. This is great for get-togethers for sporting events, and for picnic baskets, Yogi Bear.
Then I grab a Diet Coke from my fridge, sit in front of my TV watching Extreme Home Makeover, and cry, cry, cry.
For: People who want to save money, people who want to feel like chefs, and people who like eating delicious ethnic food that’s not too greasy.
That looks sooo good - I didn’t know it was so easy to make at home. I’m a huge fan of Vietnamese food - love Pho so much as well. I’m definitely going to try this at home - I already have the Sri Racha and mayo ready
Ella Pretty | October 24, 2011 |
That’s a good one! I’ve had that kind of sandwich many times before, but I never knew the name. I like to get with the cured pork, but I imagine that could be pretty hard to get, except for maybe at an asian market. I like the idea of using rotisserie chicken instead; so simple and delicious. I’ll have to try this sometime!
Cristina | October 24, 2011 |
Mindy Kaling = Domestic Goddess. Who knew?
Kassie | October 24, 2011 |
Now I’m hungry. Eggplant parmesan or Banh Mi I don’t think I’ll be happy until I’ve had both.
Claire | October 24, 2011 |
Not that I didn’t think you were the wisest woman on the planet already, but this totally solidified it. Bahn mi’s make my heart go pitter patter. The next time you’re in NYC, go to Baoguette (multiple locations). Delicious!!!
rachel | October 25, 2011 |
LOL ‘every nine weeks’
perfect amount of time to get the message across
Whitney Soup | October 25, 2011 |
Mindy - If you are ever in Atlanta, you have to try Lee’s Bakery on Buford Highway. BEST grilled pork banh mi - just $2.50! Even my 1.5 year old loved it!
Katherine | October 25, 2011 |
If you’re ever in Costa Mesa (like, for South Coast Plaza, or the crazy-good Loehmann’s down there), go just across the freeway and try this place, East Borough. They have a pretty great banh-mi sandwich. It’s a little bougie (as is the “high-end hippie mall” it sits in), but sooo good with their jasmine lime iced tea: http://www.east-borough.com/
I pretty much just doomed myself b/c my appetite won’t be satisfied until I now get one for myself. Damn.
Leigh-Ann | October 25, 2011 |
Cilantro tastes like soap to some people due to an enzyme in their mouths. There are other foods like that, too. I can taste cilantro just fine (thank heaven), but fresh papaya tastes the way burnt Barbie hair smells.
Krystl | October 26, 2011 |
That looks delicious. I LOVE cilantro.
Danielle | October 26, 2011 |
Tis is a shame for those who have yet to chow down on a delicious banh mi. I’m going to have to get all SGV here and say that we’ve got some of the best banh mi in all of the USA. Major points is that they’re only $2.25 and more often than not, you buy 2 and get one free! Throw in a Vietnamese coffee or soda chanh and you’re in heaven!
If you want all the tasty legit spots, just let me know as I’d more than happy to share. Dare I even suggest a blogger meetup! #whoop
Natalie (Fashion Intel) | October 26, 2011 |
Sriracha is the best hot sauce ever invented. I think you could probably write a whole blog post about its merits.
Steve Lovelace | October 27, 2011 |
Wait a sec. I *love* Vietnamese sandwiches and although Chinatown is a few blocks away, that’s sometimes just too far for my lazy okole. So I was all excited about this new bit of joy you have shared-oh, even a kitchen dyslexic like me can have my banh mi! But then I looked closely at that photo. Did you shoot it yourself, of your own sandwich? And if so… Is that a hunk of mozzarella? or a chunk of tofu? WHAT WHAT WHAT is that white thing nestled under the cilantro and above the chicken? I AM CONCERNED.
Caroline | October 27, 2011 |