Ingredients
- Serves 2
- 2 small good-quality French baguettes (or 1 long baguette cut into 2 x 7-inch pieces)
- 100g pork paté
- For the pork:3 garlic cloves, peeled
- 2.5 cm piece root ginger, peeled and chopped
- 2 large handfuls of fresh coriander, stalks and roots (leaves saved for garnish)
- 2 tbsp fish sauce (ideally Vietnamese)
- 350g pork fillet, well-trimmed and cut on the diagonal into long, thin slices
- Zest and juice of 1 lime
- For the pickled vegetables:1 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp caster sugar
- 3 tbsp rice vinegar
- 1 small red Thai chilli, finely sliced
- 1 cucumber, thinly julienned
- 1 carrot, thinly julienned
- For the spiced mayo:3 tbsp mayonnaise
- 1 tbsp hoisin sauce
- 1-2 tsp sriracha sauce
When it comes to street food, there are few places in the world as exciting as Vietnam. Among the many brilliant snacks to choose from, the bahn mi sandwich is a staple. Not many sandwiches can boast origins from a French occupation in the late 1800s while also maintaining core aspects of traditional Asian cuisine. A complex sandwich indeed. It comprises a soft and crispy rice flour baguette, rich pork paté (yes, paté – this is not a misprint), pickled vegetables and meats like roast pork belly thinly sliced, or grilled chicken.
While we may never recreate the authentic bahn mi at home, this version comes close. Substitute thin slices of pork belly for the pork used here, if you have some, and look for light crispy baguettes with a pillowy interior, the type a hipster would turn their nose up at.
To prepare the pork, bash together the garlic, ginger, coriander stalks and lime zest in a pestle and mortar, until you have a smooth paste. Add the fish sauce and lime juice and mix. Place the pork in a bowl and toss with the paste to coat. Leave to marinade for at least 30 minutes, or covered in the fridge overnight.
In a bowl, whisk together the salt, sugar and rice vinegar. When the liquid is clear, add the chilli, cucumber and carrots, and leave to sit for at least 30 minutes, or covered in the fridge overnight.
Mix together the ingredients for the mayo and set it aside.
Cook the pork in batches over a high heat on a barbecue or a lightly oiled cast-iron griddle pan for two minutes on each side, until cooked through and sizzling. Remove and keep it warm.
To assemble the sandwiches, split the rolls and slather one side of each one with the mayonnaise and spread the other with the pork paté. Add the cooked pork and drained pickled vegetables, and stuff with coriander leaves.
