Roasted Pork Banh Mi
Make these sandwiches for this weekend!
You can make the pickles and meat today or tomorrow, and enjoy these on Saturday or Sunday. You could make a little picnic lunch (maybe an indoor picnic lunch for those of you getting pounded by snow!).
Banh mi are definitely one of my very favorite sandwiches. (And yes, I had to look up the plural of banh mi because I always assumed it was banh miS, but it turns out it’s just the same as singular…like deer or moose, hah!) Basically all they are is a Vietnamese sandwich served on an airy, sweet baguette. You can fill it with whatever, but most contain meat or tofu, pickled veggies, cilantro, and jalapeño.
This particular banh mi is filled with the most amazing roasted pork shoulder. I mean, it is seriously delicious. If you don’t make these sandwiches, at least make this pork!
It’s soaked overnight in a mixture of salt, sugar, jalapeño, garlic and lots of water. This (coupled with a low and slow cook) makes the meat fall-apart tender. A 6-hour roast at only 250 degrees, with basting every hour, makes this outrageously succulent.
The roasted pork is not the only porky component to these sandwiches, though. There’s also pork pâté, which is a pretty common ingredient on Vietnamese sandwiches. It just adds another layer of flavor and texture that I think makes everything even better!
There are three different pickles on this sandwich: pickled carrots, pickled daikon, and quick-pickled cucumbers.
All are super easy to make, but it’s important to make the carrots and daikon at least a day ahead of time for the best flavor. The cucumbers only needs 10 minutes to sit and they’re good-to-go!
In the recipe, I specify that Kewpie mayo is the best choice for this. If you’re not familiar with Kewpie, it’s a Japanese mayonnaise that is made with rice vinegar as opposed to white vinegar. It’s smoother, creamier, and comes in a weird bag, haha. It’s verging on life-changing. You can get it at Asian grocery stores, specialty stores, or just on Amazon!
Oh, and if you’re not a fan of spicy foods, you can totally skip the jalapeños and sriracha (I make Mikey’s without both because he really dislikes anything remotely spicy)!
PrintRoasted Pork Banh Mi
Ingredients:
for the daikon and carrot pickles (make at least 1 to 2 days ahead of time!):
- 4 small carrots, peeled
- 1 large daikon radish, peeled
- 1 cup hot water
- 1/2 cup rice wine vinegar
- 6 tbsp granulated sugar
- 2 and 1/2 tsp kosher salt
for the pork:
- 1 large jalapeño, sliced
- 4 garlic cloves, crushed
- lots of freshly-ground pepper
- 1/2 cup kosher salt
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 8 cups simmering water
- 3-4 lb pork shoulder
for quick cucumber pickles:
-
1 kirby (mini) cucumber, cut into thin wedges
-
1 and 1/2 tsp kosher salt
-
1 and 1/2 tsp granulated sugar
for the banh mi:
- Vietnamese baguette, or other sweet, airy baguette (I get mine from a local Vietnamese restaurant)
- Mayo (preferably Kewpie mayonnaise)
- pork pâté (Pâté de Campagne)
- fresh cilantro
- sliced jalapeños
- sriracha
Directions:
for the daikon and carrot pickles (make at least 1 to 2 days ahead of time!):
- Slice the carrots and daikon into 3-inch segments, and then matchstick them using a mandoline (or carefully with a knife). Place the carrots in one container, and the daikon in another.
- In a small bowl, mix together the water, vinegar, sugar, and salt until dissolved. Poor half into the carrots, and half into the daikon. Cover and refrigerate for 1-3 days before eating (they can be kept for a month in the fridge).
for the pork:
- In a 6-quart airtight container, mix together 2 cups of the simmering water (take the rest off the heat) with the sugar, salt, pepper, garlic, and jalapeños until the sugar and salt is dissolved. Place the meat in the bowl and top with the remaining water. Cover and refrigerate for at least 12 hours, or up to 24 hours.
- Remove meat from fridge and drain. Place in a roasting pan. Preheat oven to 250 degrees.
- Cook the meat for 6 hours, basting every hour. Remove the meat from the oven and allow to sit for 30 minutes. Pull the meat part with 2 forks. Serve immediately, of store in a tupperware in the fridge.
for quick cucumber pickles:
- Toss the cucumber spears with the salt and sugar and allow to site for 10 minutes before serving.
for the banh mi:
- Toast the bread in the oven for a bit, until the outside is cracky. Split in half with a knife.
- Squeeze the mayo onto both sides of the bread, then slice or crumble the pork pâté onto the bottom half of the bread. Add pork shoulder on top of that, followed by the cilantro pickles, jalapeños and sriracha.
pickle recipes from Momofuku
