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Cook-Off 60: Banh Mi


David Ross

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11 hours ago, robirdstx said:

Tonight’s Banh Mi:


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Boneless Chicken Thighs were marinated in Soy Vay Veri Veri Teriyaki Marinade & Sauce, then grilled and chopped. I did not use a pate this time, just slathered the Sriracha Mayo top and bottom.

 

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That looks so delicious and would be good in the next few days as we go back to hot daily temps.

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  • 6 months later...

I've never had Banh Mi until now (so I have no way of knowing if my version was correct).  I've always thought they looked so good.   I finally pulled the trigger a couple of nights ago after being able to find the correct bread at the Asian Market that we went to.

 

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After reading through this whole thread and looking online I decided to do a version with chicken.  I marinated a couple of boneless breasts in a mix of diced garlic, soy sauce, fish sauce, sugar, mayo, lime juice and Sriracha for several hours.  Then I thinly sliced some carrots and did a quick pickle in a mix of water, rice vinegar, sugar and salt (forgot to take a picture of that).  When it was time to eat, I cooked the chicken in a skillet and when cool enough thinly sliced it.  Mayo on both sides of bread and layered with cilantro, pickled carrots, pickled watermelon radish (had that already done in the fridge) jalapeños and a few diced homemade dill pickles. 

 

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I LOVED this.  I'm sorry I haven't made these sooner.  The flavors all together were so fresh and different.  I was worried that Ronnie wouldn't care for the bread, and I was right.  He, too, loved the flavors but he's not a crunchy bready person.  I explained that everything I had read about Banh Mi says that the bread is supposed to shatter and leave little crumbs but that didn't change his mind lol.  He also said that the amount of veggies was great but he would also add more meat next time. I know that pate is added most of the time but I was lazy and didn't feel like making any and had forgotten to look for some pork pate at the market.   So, for him, I'll do it like that and maybe on a little different type of bread.  We didn't go to our usual Asian Market but when we go next time we will and I think their bread is a bit softer looking.

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15 minutes ago, Shelby said:

everything I had read about Banh Mi says that the bread is supposed to shatter

 

I've had bánh mì in Vietnam where there was no shattering involved! In fact, the sandwiches in my favourite bánh mì place in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) are non-shattering.

 

I'd definitely add the pâté.

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...your dancing child with his Chinese suit.

 

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2 hours ago, Shelby said:

I was worried that Ronnie wouldn't care for the bread, and I was right.  He, too, loved the flavors but he's not a crunchy bready person.

 

For Ronnie, you could always give one roll a CSO warm-up on steam-bake to soften the crust.  Like 3-4 min @ 275°F.  Also, since you're a good baker, you might consider making the rolls.  I've use this recipe from Andrea Nguyen successfully.  She has more tips on her blog here

 

Oh, and those look great!

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  • 1 month later...

Just stumbled across this on YouTube:

A little history and humor thrown in...

How To Make Banh Mi with Andrea Nguyen

 

 

For those who can't stream, here is the URL: https://youtu.be/k4HA1ejw_hA

 

 

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Interesting watching Andrea's video. Also surprised she didn't even mention pate. I'm a bit finicky about the pate: I prefer a lighter chicken liver mousse which I also can buy, but I can live without the pate and still have a great sandwich. I always use her recipe for the pickled carrot and daikon. I've also made her char siu, although I'm happy enough simply buying that in Chinatown. I liked her emphasis on using Maggi sauce; there's nothing quite like it. She just squirts it on but I like to mix it with the mayo before spreading. In a pinch I've used pickled jalapeños instead of fresh, and that's good too.

 

I've made Banh Mi with pork, shrimp, chicken and duck confit. If I did it again with duck I might just buy a roast duck in Chinatown and pick off the meat; the duck confit was too salty for me. I really like a banh mi with grilled marinated shrimp. In NOLA we discovered a bar with a banh mi operation in the back. They did a sort of po-boy banh mi mash up with a cajun inspired shrimp. They also made a dynamite drink that was basically an alcoholic vietnamese coffee milkshake that was perfect for that sandwich and perfect for the sticky hot weather. Truthfully it's the meal I remember best from that city.

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56 minutes ago, Katie Meadow said:

Interesting watching Andrea's video. Also surprised she didn't even mention pate.

She certainly does mention pate as she describes how the French influenced the original sandwich which was in fact a pate sandwich. 

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23 minutes ago, Anna N said:

she describes how the French influenced the original sandwich which was in fact a pate sandwich. 

 

and in Vietnam still largely is.

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...your dancing child with his Chinese suit.

 

"No amount of evidence will ever persuade an idiot"
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  • 2 weeks later...

And we have a SUCCESS!

 

I quickly ran in to the Asian Market a few days ago --it was very busy and sadly, a ton of their coolers\freezers were broken so NO pork belly and hardly any meats.  BUT, I snagged 4 banh mi breads for $1 and right next to the breads I found pork liver pate.  Well, that cinched it.  I had pork belly in the freezer so I thought I'd try one more time to make Ronnie like this lol.  

 

thumbnail_IMG_0755.jpg.0f9d9c33e5ff848e718f239797835b3f.jpg

 

I'm no pate expert.  This was like $2 something a can.  But, I love it.  Someone, somewhere around here told me to not skip the pate, and they were right.  

 

Pate, a mix of mayo and Sriracha, and pork belly that marinated overnight in fish sauce, brown sugar, soy sauce, jalapeños, garlic and oil.

 

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Pickled carrots and radishes and cilantro on top

 

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I'm sad I only made enough pork for one sandwich for us to split --I want more!

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12 minutes ago, Shelby said:

And we have a SUCCESS!

 

I quickly ran in to the Asian Market a few days ago --it was very busy and sadly, a ton of their coolers\freezers were broken so NO pork belly and hardly any meats.  BUT, I snagged 4 banh mi breads for $1 and right next to the breads I found pork liver pate.  Well, that cinched it.  I had pork belly in the freezer so I thought I'd try one more time to make Ronnie like this lol.  

 

thumbnail_IMG_0755.jpg.0f9d9c33e5ff848e718f239797835b3f.jpg

 

I'm no pate expert.  This was like $2 something a can.  But, I love it.  Someone, somewhere around here told me to not skip the pate, and they were right.  

 

Pate, a mix of mayo and Sriracha, and pork belly that marinated overnight in fish sauce, brown sugar, soy sauce, jalapeños, garlic and oil.

 

thumbnail_IMG_0756.jpg.f2c9e4d52dc1d77f03316a4a0251342a.jpg

 

Pickled carrots and radishes and cilantro on top

 

thumbnail_IMG_0757.jpg.07ebd18e418b96808f7d18767af28c48.jpg

 

I'm sad I only made enough pork for one sandwich for us to split --I want more!

Perfect and delicious.  I know when I first started making Banh Mi some of my snooty friends confused it when I said I used canned pork pate from the Asian store.  I think they thought that was terrible and I should only use some expensive French "pate de fois gras."  Hah, I got them on that one.  The pork pate is delicious and just perfect, (and what I know is used on many Banh Mi sandwiches in Vietnam.

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3 hours ago, Margaret Pilgrim said:

I imagine she will.

 

I've been making it for decades. Made some chicken liver pâté yesterday. But I also make pork liver pâté. Never mixed the two before, though. Might give it a try.

Edited by liuzhou (log)
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...your dancing child with his Chinese suit.

 

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I've never made a Viet paté, however French style chicken liver mousse  and Poiynesian Rumaki paté are household snack staples.    Very similar in technique with exception of Viet paté's being steamed, and the other two incorporating already lightly cooked chicken livers.

 

Edited by Margaret Pilgrim (log)
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Can you freeze pate?  I'm sure it's not easy to make just enough for 2 sandwiches and I'm not big on leftovers...

 

@ShelbyAnother thing to add (for next time) would be a cucumber spear running lengthwise and some black pepper.

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6 minutes ago, KennethT said:

Can you freeze pate?  I'm sure it's not easy to make just enough for 2 sandwiches and I'm not big on leftovers...

 

 

Yes. I freeze it all the time. Couple of pâtés in the freezer right now.

Edited by liuzhou (log)
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...your dancing child with his Chinese suit.

 

"No amount of evidence will ever persuade an idiot"
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55 minutes ago, KennethT said:

Can you freeze pate?  I'm sure it's not easy to make just enough for 2 sandwiches and I'm not big on leftovers...

 

@ShelbyAnother thing to add (for next time) would be a cucumber spear running lengthwise and some black pepper.

I definitely was going to do that until I couldn't find the part of the cucumber I thought I had.

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13 minutes ago, rotuts said:

@Shelby 

 

that pate is an excellent find

 

next time you blitzt6hat store

 

grab a few

 

for the future.

I wish I had gotten more, I did get two so I have one for next time.  But, yes, it's good!

 

Edit, and YES...I'm saving the picture of the can on my phone so hopefully I can find it next time I go.

Edited by Shelby (log)
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On 4/16/2021 at 10:36 AM, David Ross said:

Perfect and delicious.  I know when I first started making Banh Mi some of my snooty friends confused it when I said I used canned pork pate from the Asian store.  I think they thought that was terrible and I should only use some expensive French "pate de fois gras."  Hah, I got them on that one.  The pork pate is delicious and just perfect, (and what I know is used on many Banh Mi sandwiches in Vietnam.

Reminds me of some show or movie where these snooty guests asked for Pate at some Hotel and were given canned cat food and they loved it.

 

Edit: I think it was AHS

 

On topic, Is Diakon essential? Could Celery or cucumber be subbed?

Edited by FeChef (log)
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3 hours ago, FeChef said:

Reminds me of some show or movie where these snooty guests asked for Pate at some Hotel and were given canned cat food and they loved it.

 

Edit: I think it was AHS

 

On topic, Is Diakon essential? Could Celery or cucumber be subbed?


When I don’t have daikon at hand (more often than not), I use just the quick-pickled carrot ribbons and cukes. For me, its about that fresh crunch, paired with the cilantro (which is not optional) ...

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