David Ross

How amazingly delicious!

OK, I think I'm set. How does this sound? Banh Mi #1- Bread top Chicken Liver Mousse Carrot/Daikon Pickle Maggi Roast Pork Sliced Cucumber in Orange Vinaigrette Bread bottom Banh Mi #2- Bread top Siracha Mayonnaise Red-Cooked Pork Pickled Watermelon Slices Fresh Basil Fresh Mint Bread bottom

There are a few topics but I think this one is the one you are thinking of. Excellent info and pictures. Thanks for the link. I'm going to use that style of roast pork in a Banh Mi with a smooth chicken liver pate. I'll be doing another one with red-cooked pork and pickled watermelon instead of vegetables. Now that's going to be a really red Banh Mi!

Anyone ever tried a Banh Mi with fruit substituting for the traditional pickled carrot and daikon mix?

Anyone out there have good techniques for crisping the skin on pork belly? One time I roasted a pork belly with skin/rind on and it came out as tough as plywood. The next time, I cut off the outer layer of skin/rind and left the fat layer. The fat layer of skin got sort of crispy, but not like what I've had from roast pork belly out of a Chinese deli. I found a Banh Mi recipe using roast pork belly that calls for pricking the rind/skin with a skewer before roasting, then at the last stages of roasting you turn up the broiler to puff and crisp the skin. The photo of the finished roast pork belly showed a lot of little crispy bubbles on the skin, just like from the deli. Any thoughts? I want the pork in my "Banh Mi" nuber one to have crispy skin.

I'm forming my plans for two different Banh Mi. I'll be doing a roast pork belly version with chicken liver pate and the requisite pickled daikon and carrot, but I'll probably change the pickling liquid a bit. Then I plan on a red-cooked pork belly for Banh Mi #2, but no pate and maybe some mayo on that one. I'm thinking of some French influence in the red-cooked pork version.

Thanks everyone, you're helping me put together my shopping list, but I've still got a way to go. I see that most traditional Banh Mi call for roast pork belly with crisp crackling. I love Asian-style roast pork, but it can be bland with the main flavor component coming from that fatty, crisp skin. So, has anyone ventured over to China and used red-cooked pork belly in a Banh Mi? I like the deep flavors and caramel notes in red-cooked meats so I'm thinking it would work in a Banh Mi, maybe without the need of adding pate. I've also seen some Vietnamese recipes for a caramelized pork belly, (not red-cooked). Any thoughts on this discussion of how to treat the pork meat? Can we use the loin, ham or shoulder meat?

My ignorance is showing. I've seen bottles of Maggi in markets for years. I always assumed it was like the browning agent Kitchen Bouquet and I sensed it was full of salt and preservatives. Now I know better. Do you dilute the Maggi or just drizzle it on the pork when you are making the Banh Mi sandwich?

What's the purpose of the Maggi seasoning? Does it just add a soy type of salty flavor? Would a drizzle of sweet or dark, thick soy sauce provide the same flavor profile as Maggi?

It would be interesting to see a Vietnamese recipe for the "French" roll--especially the inclusion of rice flour. The French likely brought their beloved bread with them across the seas when they landed in Vietnam during the Colonial period. I'm not an expert on French baguettes, but I doubt they employ rice flour in the dough. Anyone know if the Vietnamese started baking French-style baguettes using rice flour as a substitute for wheat flour? I imagine it was probably somewhat expensive to export European wheat flour to Vietnam in the mid 19th century.

Wow, Banh Mi for breakfast. Makes sense of course, meat and bread. The local Asian store I shop at just started getting bread rolls for sandwiches and I'm sure they are intended for Banh Mi sandwiches. They also sell fresh pork belly, but it's cut in pretty small slabs, under about 1 1/2 pounds. We don't have a large Asian community and the Vietnamese restaurants only serve Pho soup and not much else. I can find decent pork pate in a regular grocery store. You mentioned thick Indonesian soy. I assume you mean Kecap Manis? I have a bottle on hand that I occasionally use. Do you use it as a condiment on the sandwich or do you cook the pork belly with some of the thick, sweet soy?

I'm going to resist temptation with this Cook-Off and not go directly into the kitchen. I'm going to gather my thoughts and recipe ideas while I gain some insight and relish in everyone's Banh Mi success stories. Then next weekend I'll put my mouth to my own Banh Mi and taste the results.

Well we are both basically in the same circumstance. While I've heard of Banh Mi sandwiches, I've never eaten one nor have I ever made one. But due to the urging of our Members and the popularity of Banh Mi sandiches today, I think we'll be embarking on a fun adventure in the kitchen--and I'll be relying on everyone's input before I start crafting my sandwich. From what I've researched over the course of the past week, the basics are French bread rolls, pork, (and often pate), and crisp vegetables dressed with some variety of vinegar--a marriage of French and Vietnamese cuisines.

Today we’ve reached a milestone, the 60th edition of one of the most popular discussions that graces our forums—the eGullet Cook-Off Series. (Click http://forums.egulle...m/#entry1581324 here for the complete eG Cook-Off Index). In celebration of reaching Cook-Off #60, we’ll be discussing a sandwich that is a marriage of French and Vietnamese cultures. A sandwich that has crossed international borders and now finds itself on restaurant menus throughout the world. It’s served on fine china at white tablecloth dining rooms and it’s delivered on a paper plate out of a food truck parked in downtown Manhattan. Yes, friends, you’ve guessed the subject of Cook-Off #60-the Banh Mi sandwich, the current king of sandwichdom.

This picture was taken at La Mesa de Blanca, in Ziracuaretiro, Michoacán, México. The chicharrones are made in-house and the avocados are from nearby groves. I just couldn't resist. Now that is delicious.

For this guacamole I combined avocado, yellow onion, garlic, tomato, cilantro, lime juice, olive oil, salt, pepper, chili powder and chipotle powder. The chicharron's were heated in the oven at 350 for about 10 minutes.

I'm also doing guacamole tonight--and I'm substituting "chips" with incredibly fatty, un-nutritional chicharones-fried pork rinds. It's very hard for me to find fresh pork fat back locally to be able to make homemade chicharones, but there's a very good Mexican market when I can buy a commercial brand that's pretty good. I like to warn the pork rinds in a 300 oven for about 15 minutes before serving them with chilled guacamole.

I've been doing a lot of cooking with Copper River Salmon recently in our Cook-Off #59 http://forums.egulle...80#entry1882480 here. As the season winds down, this will probably be the last dish I'll make until next year. Copper River Salmon "Poke"-

This has been one of the best Copper River Salmon runs in recent years--and I just can't help myself from using it in dishes that use "cured" fish. In this dish, I used a ceviche-style, "quick-cure" with citrus juice and Asian flavors for a Copper River Salmon "Poke." As you know, Poke is a traditional Hawaiian dish using fresh seafood dressed with lime or lemon juice and accented with other Asian-inspired flavors. Sometimes Poke includes diced tomato, cucumber or sweet peppers, but this time I left it nude with just the Salmon dressed with a simple vinaigrette. Once again I used the Copper River Sockeye for it's fresh, clean, deep salmon flavor and its high oil content. I cut the salmon into small dice and tossed it with some Chinese peppercorn chili oil, chives, toasted sesame seeds and a soy-ginger-garlic vinaigrette. The vinaigrette was composed of fresh ginger, fresh garlic, lime juice, soy sauce, sesame oil, fresh shallots and grapeseed oil. I used some dried seaweed sheets to create layers of the "Napolean," then the Salmon Poke, Seaweed, more Salmon Poke and a garnish of fresh chives and dried fried red onion. The only thing missing was a glass of crisp, chilled Riesling. Copper River Salmon "Poke-

One of my best dishes ever. I've been eating more Copper River Salmon this year than ever. I imagine an appetizer like the one I did above would cost a pretty penny in a restaurant.

David, Thank you for the suggestions. We ate at Luna last night and had a fantastic meal. I started with an interesting salad of watercress, shaved baby persian cukes, almond slices, shaved pecorino topped with crispy potato shreds. Really quite good and definitely tangy. Followed this with the Prime Sirloin which was perfectly cooked. Came with parmesan rosemary potato gratin, broccolini, and roasted shallot demi glace. My husband had the Pork Chop Argentine - which was a grilled double cut chop, white bean succotash, and chimichurri along with a side of broccolini. Nice wine and beer list as well. No room for dessert. We really enjoyed the restaurant and highly recommend it to anyone looking for a place to go in Spokane. Recommend reservations as it was extremely busy last evening. We sat inside but they do have patio dining as well. We appreciated your suggestion. Kay So glad you liked it and I'm glad my recommendation worked out well. It's a bit tough for restaurants in Spokane who cook "local and seasonal" as our growing seasons are quite short compared to the West side of the state. However, with some creativity and the marriage of local with good quality, restaurants like Luna do a nice job. Visit us in the late Summer and we'll treat you to fresh huckleberries and late-Summer peaches.

Fresh dill is delicious stirred into scrambled eggs. I heat a saute pan over medium heat, plop in a few tablespoons of salted butter, then stir in beaten eggs. And stir and stir to break the curds. When the eggs are almost set, yet still runny, take them off the heat and stir in the fresh dill. Dill is very delicate so if you cook it in the eggs it will lose a lot of flavor. Top the eggs with gravlax for even more levels of flavor.

Not a good season this Spring in the Pacific Northwest. I bought some morels yesterday at the astronomical price of $62.99 a pound! They were almost a month late in the market and they won't last long.

When I was a kid, the only "cod" my Mother served came in the form of chopped whitefish shaped into fish sticks. We loved them back then, but my tastes are a bit more refined now. Roast Alaskan Cod with Chimmichurri "Bacalao"-

We've been discussing curing, brining and smoking fish http://forums.egulle...93#entry1880493 here. Tonight I put together an appetizer with the Copper River Salmon that I've been curing this past week. Spiced Copper River Sockeye Gravlax with Aquavit, Spring Asparagus, Capers, Chive Blossoms, Lemon, Olive Oil and Rye Croutons-