Quick Banh Mi

Regular sandwiches are absolutely boring when compared to this Vietnamese delicacy. This super loaded sub is unlike any other sandwich you’ve ever had.  How I developed this recipe- It’s after hearing from one of my friends from Vietnam about how she survived through her university studies there and her love for Banh mi -which she had every single day, I started craving for one as well. But my only option was to recreate one as Vietnamese food wasn’t widely available were I lived. So in order to make this meaty Vietnamese submarine I went through almost every single recipe on the internet. To my surprise each and every blog/ video followed a different recipe and I had to join the important elements from few of the best rated ones to recreate a Banh mi that’s as authentic as possible when homemade. And in order to make it a bit more healthier, I use a wholewheat baguette instead of the traditional white baguette. What’s special about this recipe- Dairy-free— This sandwich is free from dairy-cheese/butter.etc- yet you would never miss anything exciting in it, as there’s a lot of flavours from the combination of cold cuts and sliced roast meat along with tanginess from pickled veggies and spicy niness of sriacha/peppers  Loaded with veggies & protein- As the sub is super filled with colourful veggies and different types of meat, it definitely does add a lot to your healthy daily nutritional requirements. Baguette preference- Traditionally Banh Mi is made using ‘Banh Mi Tay’ which is the name for Vietnamese white mini baguettes. But it’s totally upto you to switch it to a healthy brown baguette as I did (I used my homemade whole wheat baguette). What you’ll need- Wholewheat (or white ) Baguette bread -1 ~12 inches or 2~6 inches Sliced onions- half a cup Carrots and white radishes cut into thin strips- half a cup Half a cup of thinly sliced green salad cucumbers  4-8 slices of jalapeños or thin cut green peppers  Few stems of coriander leaves  4 tablespoons of chicken pate  ~4 slices of pink ham Sliced roasted ham or succulent sliced beef steak cuts (leftover would do) 2 tablespoons sriracha and 2 tablespoons mayo combined A mixture of 1 tablespoon white vinegar, 1 tablespoon rice wine, half tablespoon sugar and half teaspoon salt How to make- Pickle the cut carrots and radishes in vinegar mixture.Slit the baguette and spread the chicken pate. Top it up with peppers, onions and pickled veggies.Then layer it with hot sliced of roast ham or steak.Now arrange the coriander sprigs on top.Drizzle sriracha-mayo after placing the cold cut pink ham and finally close the sub with the top half of the baguette.  Notes, Tips and Suggestions  . Banh Mi is a very versatile sub that you could customise your favourite cold cuts and steak cuts of meat. . You could always add more sriracha or mayo to balance the spicy ness  of your sandwich.  . It’s ideal to tie your Banh Mi in the centre with a lining of parchment paper strip, so that you could eat it more conveniently.