BANH MI (ASIAN SANDWICH) MY VERSION

This is my take on my favorite Cambodian/Vietnamese Style sandwich. This is probably one of the reasons why i love their food. This brings back memories, i had the privilege to taste an authentic Cambodian "hoagie", really when i say authentic it is authentic. It was prepared by Cambodians and it was wrapped like how they'd do it ..wrapped w/ a phone book page. But i tell you, you'll forget the wrapper as soon as you bite into the sandwich. Hey, just like the fish and chips in England wrapped in a newspaper right?

I have had this recipe for a long time, i forgot the source. All i remembered is, i got this from an Asian cookbook. This recipe is Cambodian but this more of the Vietnamese(Banh Mi) which can be ordered at any Vietnamese Restaurants. Just like any other sandwiches there are a lot of variations as to what kind of meat you'd put into the sandwich.

Okay enough of that lets go to the recipe for the pork and the relish. The carrot and daikon relish is a must to make the sandwich. If you won't make the relish then you'll not know how the sandwich would taste and if you don't like daikon then just make carrots relish.

And oh, it has to be a Vietnamese baquette, okay that's going to be a stretch, i know that's not easy to find but this kind of bread is available at almost all Asian stores. You can actually use any kind of bread that is crunchy in the outside and soft in the inside.

First, make the Carrot and Daikon Relish

CARROT AND DAIKON RELISH

INGREDIENTS:
1 tablespoon salt
2 cups julienne daikon (1 medium daikon)
2 cups julienne carrot (2 large carrots)
½ cup white vinegar
½ cup sugar
½ cup water
1 teaspoon salt

Prodecure:

In a bowl, mix the teaspoon of salt, julienned daikon and carrots, squeeze all the liquid out from the daikon and carrot then set aside.
In a small bowl, mix vinegar, sugar, salt and water, stir until sugar is dissolved. Taste and adjust.
Pour the vinegar mix over the daikon and carrots. Mix well and keep chilled.
***The relish can last up to 2 weeks in the ref.
***This is delicious as a side dish for any grilled or fried dishes, as a relish for a sandwich, or for lettuce wraps and many other dishes.

Second, Grill the Pork

GRILLED HONEY PORK

INGREDIENTS:

1 ½ lbs. country style ribs pork (boneless) or boneless blade roast pork sliced thin.
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 stalk green onion, minced
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon oyster sauce
1 tablespoon honey
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper

Procedure:

In a blender or processor, puree garlic, green onion, soy sauce, oyster, salt, honey and black pepper.
Pour marinade into the pork meat, mix well and refrigerate overnight or at least 4 hours.
Grill marinated pork in medium temperature, cook until meat is cooked and tender.
Serve as the meat in the sandwich w/ the daikon and carrot relish, with hot steamed rice, or lettuce wrap w/ the carrot and daikon relish

Now that the two main ingredients are done, it's assembly time.





Toast your baguette to make it warm, slather some mayonnaise (you can also mix a little of sambal olek or sriracha or anything hot and spicy to your mayo if you want a little kick).
Then the grilled pork and a generous amount of the relish and lastly some cilantro leaves.
I also added some jalapeno pickles to my sandwich. That's it!!!

ENJOY!!!