Banh Mi Sandwich

From Andreana Nyugen’s Into the Vietnamese Kitchen

For each sandwich:

• 1 petit baguette roll or a 7-inch section cut from a regular length baguette, purchased from a Vietnamese bakery
• Mayonnaise, real (whole egg) or homemade mayonnaise
• Maggi Seasoning sauce or soy sauce
• Your choice of boldly-flavored meat or tofu, sliced and at room temperature
• 3 or 4 thin seeded cucumber strips, pickling or English variety preferred
• 2 or 3 cilantro sprigs, roughly chopped
• 3 or 4 thin jalapeño pepper slices
• Everyday Daikon and Carrot Pickle (do chua)

1. Slit the bread lengthwise, and then use your fingers or a bread knife to hollow out the insides, making a trough in both halves. Discard the insides or save it for another use, such as breadcrumbs. If necessary, crisp up the bread in a toaster oven preheated to 325ºF, and then let it cool for a minute before proceeding.

2. Generously spreading the inside with mayonnaise. Drizzle in some Maggi Seasoning sauce or soy sauce. Start from the bottom portion of bread to layer in the remaining ingredients. (As with all sandwiches, you’ll eventually develop an order for layering the filling so as to maximize the interaction between flavors and textures.) Close the sandwich, cut it in half crosswise for easy eating, and enjoy.

For her master banh mi recipe and many others visit:

http://www.vietworldkitchen.com/blog/2009/06/banh-mi-sandwich-recipe.html