banh mi

I miss New York. All the time. Like I miss my best friends. Almost. I miss the busyness of the people, of the streets, the way you bump into people - literally - all the time. The way you never know who you're going to meet or what cool place you're going to find. The way everyone there is really, really trying to make it in some hyper-competitive industry. The way everyone knows who's giving out free stuff or what community event is going on. It's just... alive.


As a food person, I miss the food. Fancy schmancy restaurants you can find anywhere, but the street food! The quick takeout places with spicy Italian sandwiches on fresh bread, the boiled bagels, the chicken over rice, the dumpling shops, the falafel... and of course, the relatively new craze - banh mi. For those that don't know, banh mi are Vietnamese sandwiches. You can find them here in Maryland, but of course New Yorkers have to step it up and add juicier, higher-quality marinated meat and gorgeous baguettes. My first was at Nicky's in the East Village, and their spicy pork sandwich will forever be my favorite.


Since I'm not able to grab one whenever I so desire, I decided to make it when we had friends over the other night. It takes a little bit of prep, but let people make their own sandwiches and you have a pretty hands-off dinner party. I served it with posole, totally not Vietnamese but I had the stuff on hand (jalapenos, limes, etc)


banh mi


the day before
marinate slaw:

• 1/4 cup water
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup distilled white vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 2 small carrots, julienned
• 1/2 small daikon radish, julienned

Put in fridge, covered, overnight

marinate meat:
1 recipe lemongrass beef or, if you don't want to buy obscure ingredients, caramelized pork


the day of
make sauce, mix:

• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 1/4 cup Sriracha
• 1 teaspoon fish sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

to serve:

• slaw (above)
• meat, cooked (above)
• sauce (above)
• fresh baguettes for everyone - I would get extra 'cause people really like these sammiches - I will post a recipe for them soon!
• thinly sliced cucumber
• cilantro, washed and dried thoroughly
• sliced jalapeno
• thinly sliced onions - pour vinegar over them (if desired)
• Sriracha and/or Sambal Oolek (we had both)

Let people put their sandwiches together - the bigger the better, in my opinion. =)