When my son started to date Jessica, a lovely Vietnamese American girl, recently I realized I had very little knowledge of Vietnamese Cuisine. As I began to study the subject I found that the cuisine was influenced, as so many others were, by other cuisines as a result of either occupation or significant migration of a people group into the country. Morocco and Peru come to mind as they are both very eclectic cuisines that were influenced by many years of occupation by Europeans.
The Vietnamese were essentially occupied by the French in the early part of the 20th century preceding what would become the Vietnam War. During this time the French left their mark on Viet Nam in the areas of culture, religion, food and architecture.
Bánh mì translates literally as bread and so is the name of a baguette like roll. It is also the name of a concoction of the roll and various fillings. It is based upon a french countryside sandwich. Fillings can be any of various meat or egg fillings such as ham, chicken or scrambled eggs and pickled vegetables. The hallmark of this and most Asian Cuisine is freshness and a complete harmony of flavors. And so, this sandwich is a wonderful combination of sweet, salty, sour and in every way appealingly fresh.
My version is somewhat more “americanized” and is very easy to prepare. It has an exceptional, complex taste that continues to give throughout the meal. I am not a sandwich lover by nature but I really, really loved the flavors of my version of the Bánh mì. While I can think of scores of other possibilities for this Vietnamese Influenced sandwich such as using chicken and fresh green onions, eggs and sriracha, sauteed shrimp and garden fresh cucumbers I really, really loved my first version. As my family knows, they will be eating lots of iterations of this new favorite.
Ingredients:
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- 1/2 cup carrot, peeled and grated
- 1/2 cup thinly sliced white onion
- 1/2 cup shredded cabbage
- 8 very thin tomato slices
- 1 jalapeno chili, finely chopped (Remove white vein and seeds to remove heat, I left it in and sandwich was not hot)
- 1/2 teaspoon chili flakes
- 1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped (Reserve 1/4 cup to assemble sandwich)
- 1 (16 inch) baguette or 4 Vietnamese bánh mì(1)
- 2 Tablespoons mayonnaise
- 1 lb boneless pork tenderloin or pork chops(1), cut 1/4 inch thick
- 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
- 1 teaspoon each Salt, Pepper and Granulated Garlic (If using Garlic Salt, which I do not, omit salt)
Method:
Crush Garlic and salt together and blend with Vinegar and Sugar. Add Carrots, Cabbage, Onions, 1/4 cup of the Cilantro and Chilies and set aside. Season pork chops with salt, pepper and granulated garlic and grill for approximately 2 minutes per side on hot grill. Alternatively you could pan seer but I used the gas grill. Set aside to cool. (This step can be done ahead)
Slice baguette into 4 pieces, then cut in half as for a sandwich, and heat in oven until warm. Remove from oven and place pork cutlets between bread. Allow bread to cool and juices from cutlets to meld with the bread. Spread each side of bread with mayonnaise, place 1/4 of vegetables on top of each piece of pork, top with 2 tomato slices, squeeze of top with lime juice and remaining cilantro. Eat and enjoy!
Notes:
(1)bánh mì is Vietnamese style sandwich roll made with wheat and rice flour and is probably difficult to find unless you have large Vietnamese population. A close approximation is a french baguette cut into 6″ long sandwich rolls.
(2)For the pork I went to my favorite Carneceria, Mi Amigo Abad on East Main in Santa Maria, and purchased 1 pound of Chuleza de Puerco which is essentially a pork chop but cut very thinly. You certainly don’t have to do this but I find that a Carneceria has the very best prices and absolutely the freshest meat you can buy. Unlike Americans, Mexicans do no hold and “age” their meat so it is always the freshest. They also are dependent upon the community and not in fancy marketing campaigns so the prices are always lower.
