Bahn Mi
Vietnamese for "sandwich" so if you say "Bahn Mi Sandwich" you are a rube. This uses Char Siu (Chinese pulled pork) to create cultural confusion. Make that the day before.
Pickling marinade:
1/2 cup rice vinegar (I only had like a tablespoon or two left in the bottle, and it still worked, so maybe don't need this much)
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
Veggies to be pickled:
1/4 cup carrot, cut into 1/16-inch-thick matchsticks (used the titan peeler)
1/4 cup white (daikon) radish, cut into 1/16-inch-thick matchsticks
1/4 cup thinly sliced white onion
The rest:
1/4 cup thinly sliced cucumber
1 tbsp fresh cilantro leaves
2 tbsp mayonnaise
sriracha (optional)
a wedge of lime
a baguette
a fistful of pulled pork
Combine water and sugar in a saucepan over medium heat, bring to a boil, and stir until the sugar has dissolved, about 1 minute. Allow the mixture to cool (stick the pan in the snow.) Add the rice vinegar and pour into a bowl with the carrot, radish, and onion. Allow to stand for at least 30 minutes.
Mix the mayo with a squirt of sriracha, or just use plain mayo. The pulled pork has zero heat, and I skip the sliced jalapeños here, so this is the only source of heat if you want it.
Slice the baguette in half the long way, and pull the center of the bread out of the baguette halves, leaving a cavity for the filling. (I trimmed out just a little bit of bread with a knife, may not be necessary at all depending on the baguette and/or personal taste.) Place the baguette halves under the broiler to lightly toast, 2 to 3 minutes. Or just use the toaster, duh.
Reheat the pulled pork in the microwave for a minute or so. Stir and break up big chunks.
To assemble, spread each half of the toasted baguette with sriracha-infused (or plain) mayonnaise, and fill the cavity of the bottom half of the bread with pulled pork, cucumber slices, pickled combo, and cilantro leaves. Squeeze a wedge of lime over the filling, and top with the other half of the baguette.
Original: