Recipe: Bánh Mì Đặc Biệt (Special Combination Pork Bánh Mì)
A classic bánh mì with plenty of delicious porky elements
Moist and flavorful pâté and mayonnaise coat the inside of a soft baguette with a crisp exterior. Slices of ham, giò thủ (headcheese), and chả lụa (pork loaf) provide a meaty bed for đồ chua (pickled carrot and daikon, in this case), cucumber, green onion, jalapeño, and cilantro. A few dashes of Maggi seasoning sauce adds a burst of savory flavor, while a bit of sriracha provides some spicy and sweet notes. Get the recipe.
Vegan and vegetarian eaters should check out Helen’s Recipes for a good vegan bánh mi recipe.
Learn more about the inspiration for this dish and the story behind it: Crispy Pillows for Everything Under the Sun
Learn more about why and how this dish works: Notes on Bánh Mì.
Active time: 30 minutes
Total time: 30 minutes
Yield: Serves two
Ingredients:
Bread:
2 Vietnamese bánh mì (You can substitute with bolillos/pan francés or light french baguettes, but I wouldn’t recommend it. Try to find a Vietnamese bakery in your area/city.)
Fillings:
giò thủ (headcheese)
chả lụa (pork loaf)
jambon (ham)
pâté (pork liver spread, homemade is better, but you can buy it canned)
Sauces:
mayonnaise (either store-bought, or homemade)
Maggi seasoning sauce (if you don’t have this, use soy sauce)
sriracha (optional)
chili jam (optional)
Condiments:
cilantro
rau răm (Vietnamese coriander, optional)
1 green onion
1 cucumber
1 small carrot (around the same size as the daikon, if possible)
1 small daikon
1 tsp salt
1 Tbsp vinegar
1 Tbsp sugar
1 green chili pepper (optional, but not according to Vy Ưng’s mom)
Tools needed:
cutting board
serrated and non-serrated knife
a few bowls
Suggested directions:
Wash your hands and prepare your ingredients and tools.
Let’s start with the đồ chua (pickled carrot and daikon). Peel the daikon and carrot, and trim off the ends. I peel away from myself while rolling the vegetable around like so:
Slice the daikon and carrots into sheets. The width will determine how quickly the pickling will occur. I cut eighth inch sheets. To stabilize the cylindrical vegetables, slice off one side, then rotate it 90º, placing the flat side down on the cutting board.
Slice the sheets in half width-wise, then slice those half-sheets into matchsticks. The best way to do this in my experience is not to stack the sheets, but to spread them out onto the cutting board slightly layered.
Throw the daikon and carrot matchsticks into a bowl, and toss with around one teaspoon of salt. Set aside for 15 minutes.
Now, let’s prep the condiments. Wash your herbs and veggies.
Trim the stem from the green chili and slice it thinly lengthwise or at an angle to make long and thin chili slices.
Trim the ends of the cucumber, and slice lengthwise or at an angle, similar to the chili.
Remove the root of the green onion. If the outer layer is dry and/or slimy, remove that too. Chop up the green onion into quarters width-wise, then slice into quarters again length-wise.
Chop up the herbs into 1-2 inch long pieces. Use the cilantro stem! It’s flavorful and adds a nice crunch.
At this point, the daikon and carrots should have a pool of water at the bottom of the bowl (10-15 minutes after tossing in salt). Drain that water, and wash the daikon and carrots a couple of times with cold water.
Toss in some sugar and vinegar in equal parts, toss, then set aside.
Slice the ham, giò thủ (headcheese), and chả lụa (pork loaf) into thin slices. I go for about an eighth inch thick, but you can cut them bigger or smaller than that.
At this point, you can make your own mayonnaise, or you can just use store-bought mayo. I chose to make some by mixing an egg and a pinch of salt, and whisking it for a long time. While whisking, slowly drip vegetable oil into the egg mixture. After a while, the egg and oil emulsion will start to form, becoming thiccer with more oil added. Make sure oil is added in slowly at the beginning, otherwise oil will not be dispersed properly throughout the egg.
Toast the bánh mì and cut it open leaving the corners intact. Organize the ingredients to create a little bánh mì factory with the bread, sauces, fillings, and condiments. I also like to rip out some bread crumb to leave more room for fillings. I eat it with some pâté or butter later on.
Layer the bánh mì however you’d like, but start with pâté, mayo, and a few dashes of Maggi seasoning sauce (or soy sauce). I cover one side of the bánh mì with mayo, and the other with pâté after dashing some Maggi on to soak into the bread.
Layer on the meat fillings: ham, giò thủ (headcheese), and chả lụa (pork loaf). I also put some terrine I had laying around in there.
Now, stuff the condiments in there. Layer on some cucumber, chilis, and đồ chua (pickled carrot and daikon). Then finish it with some sriracha.
To make it more compact and jaw-friendly, take a knife and press the ingredients into the sandwich, closing it. Voila! You have a close-to-perfect bánh mì waiting to be devoured.