Recipes
Charred Pork Banh Mi
A meat lover's dream, this sandwich combines seared pork shoulder with pork cold cuts and chicken liver mousse for a truly rich experience. Tin Vuong of Little Sister in L.A. shares this recipe as part of a trio of unique banh mi sandwiches.
Make sure to get a good sear on the pork shoulder, so you get a nice textural contrast to the soft cold cuts and mousse. You can find the Vietnamese cold cuts in any Asian grocery store (you can even use Spam) and the chicken liver mousse at most specialty stores. Then have everything ready to assemble this monster sandwich quickly and painlessly.
To learn more, read "Banh Mi, Myself & I."
Charred Pork Banh Mi
Recipe adapted from Tin Vuong, Little Sister, Los Angeles, CA
Yield: Two 12-inch banh mi
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes, plus marinating time
Total Time: 35 minutes, plus marinating time
Ingredients
For the Pork:
3 tablespoons canola oil
10 ounces pork shoulder, thinly sliced
4 tablespoons red nuoc cham
For the Banh Mi:
Two 12-inch baguettes, halved and toasted
4 tablespoons mayonnaise
4 tablespoons chicken liver mousse
4 ounces pork loaf, thinly sliced
Seared pork
Pickled daikon, for garnish
Pickled carrot, for garnish
Roasted peanuts, roughly chopped, for garnish
Julienned cucumber, for garnish
Julienned red onion, for garnish
Julienned jalapeños, for garnish
Cilantro leaves, for garnish
Fried shallots, for garnish
Fried garlic, for garnish
Directions
1. Make the pork: In a cast-iron skillet, heat the canola oil over medium-high heat. Add the pork and sear, stirring occasionally, until golden brown and cooked through, 4 minutes. Remove from the heat and add the red nuoc cham to deglaze the pan, stirring to scrape off any meaty bits on the bottom of the pan. Set aside.
2. Assemble the banh mi: Spread half of the mayonnaise on the bottom and half of the chicken liver mousse on the top of each baguette. Layer half of the pork loaf slices on the bottom half of each baguette, then divide the seared pork over each. Garnish each with a pinch of pickled daikon, pickled carrot, peanuts, cucumber, red onion, jalapeños, cilantro, fried shallots and fried garlic. Place the top halves of each baguette on and slice each sandwich into 4 pieces, then serve.
