Category Archives: Vietnamese

Vegetarian bánh mì sandwich

07 Friday Feb 2014

Posted by in baguette, bread, healthy, peanut free, quick and awesome, sandwiches, Sauces, spices, vegan, Vegetarian, Vietnamese

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Vegetarian banh mi sandwich
A bánh mì sandwich is a combination of the French influence (baguette and mayonnaise) from their colonial period in Vietnam with native Vietnamese ingredients such as cilantro and fish sauce. Traditional ingredients are all kinds of pork (grilled, marinated, ground into pork roll), chicken, pate… but also fried egg or tofu. Vegetables such as pickled carrots, cilantro and sliced cucumber are a must and the condiments are usually mayo, soy sauce and chili sauce or chilies. This is a fun sandwich as there are so many variations. The end result is a delicious combo of salt, sweet, tang and spice. Sadly, I have yet to make it to Vietnam (or nearby NYC) for a bánh mì sandwich and had to create my own. I made a tofu version today and we (me, hubby, and grandma) loved it. My new picnic staple!

Tofu bánh mì
makes 2 sandwiches
Soft and chewy baguette
Block of extra firm tofu
3 cloves garlic, sliced
handful cilantro
1 carrot
small piece daikon radish (optional)
1 cucumber or 2 small persian cucumbers
1 stalk lemongrass, chopped (optional)
french mayo or vegan mayo spread
sriracha (or sliced chilies)
good quality soy sauce
good quality sesame oil
rice vinegar
salt and pepper

1) Make the pickled carrots and daikon radish by a) shredding them in a processor or julienne them by hand, b) put in a jar with 2 parts water and 1 part rice vinegar for a couple hours or overnight. I skipped this step because I was too hungry to wait and simply drizzled plenty of rice vinegar over my carrots. The tangy-er, the better.
2) Next marinate the tofu. Chop the fresh lemongrass if you have it (I used dried lemongrass—making sure to remove the stalk before eating—but I’m not sure it added much). Cut 2/3 of the block of tofu into small strips. Add the lemongrass, garlic and tofu to a ziploc bag. Then add 1 tsp sesame oil, salt and pepper and about 5 tsp or more of good soy sauce. Mix around and let marinade for a few minutes.
3) While the tofu is marinading, wash and chop the cilantro and slice enough cucumber for two sandwiches.
4) Heat up plenty peanut oil or vegetable oil in a frying pan. More oil means crispier tofu; a good thing. Add the contents of the ziploc bag to the frying pan—garlic, lemongrass, soy sauce, tofu, etc. Stir occasionally but cook on all sides till tofu is browned and a little crispy.
5) Assemble the banh mi: a) Spread plenty (don’t be shy) of mayo and sriracha on baguette halves. Layer the pickled carrots, cucumber and lots of cilantro on the baguette. Add the tofu and drizzle some more soy sauce over everything. Add sliced chilies or extra sriracha if you are a bad ass.

Enjoy this completely awesome, delicious, healthy, fun, not-boring sandwich any time, any place, any day.

sriracha mayo
pickled carrots, cucumber, sriracha
cilantro, pickled carrots, cucumber, sriracha
Vegetarian banh mi sandwichVegetarian banh mi sandwich

Veggie spring rolls and peanut sauce

12 Thursday Sep 2013

Posted by in gluten free, healthy, party bites, vegan, Vegetarian, Vietnamese

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veggie spring rolls with peanut sauce

Spring rolls have the old sushi magic whereby you can really stuff yourself and still feel light as air and like you’ve given your body pure nourishment. The thin strands of chewy rice (or mung bean) noodles, crunchy vegetables, fresh herbs and savory sweet peanut sauce combine for some pretty awesome soul food.

Spring roll Ingredients:

spring roll wrappers
Any of the following: rice noodles, rice sticks, rice vermicelli, mung bean thread noodles
Assorted fresh raw vegetables, sliced thinly such as: carrots, cucumbers, water chestnuts, bell peppers, mushrooms, spring onion
bean sprouts
Fresh mint, basil and cilantro
avocado sliced
tofu sliced
green leaf lettuce

spring rolls
spring rolls
rice sticks, rice noodles

1. Cook the noodles according to their instructions, drain and set aside to cool.

2. Wash and prep your vegetables. You can use whatever variation of vegetables you fancy. As a minimum, you should have noodles, green lettuce, tofu or avocado, a crispy vegetable and a couple leaves of fresh mint and basil.

3. Boil water, pour into a bowl and let cool. If it is hot the rice paper wrappers will practically melt. Have a clean plate in front of you as your ‘workbench’. Dip the wrapper into the water to coat, flip over and then shake off the water. This takes only a few seconds. (If the wrapper is already quite limp, sticky or mushy then you soaked it too long.) The spring roll wrapper should seem a little ‘undercooked’ when you take it out of the water. Don’t worry, in a few seconds it will be completely soft.

4. Place the wrapper on your plate, grab a small handful of rice noodles and set them in the middle of the wrapper. Layer your sliced vegetables and a piece of soft green lettuce over the noodles. Fold up the very bottom of the wrapper as though you were about to fold a burrito. Then take one side and fold it over, holding the filling tightly together, and continue to roll up the spring roll into a tight, neat little package. The top can be left open. *If you are using large spring roll wrappers, fold up both ends and then cut the roll in half to form two spring rolls.

5. Set aside and repeat until you have as many spring rolls as you like. Don’t worry if you are as crappy at this as I am! Practice, practice, practice.

Peanut Sauce Ingredients:

I got this recipe from chowhound but there are many different variations. There is no need to buy a bottle of pre-made peanut sauce. Making your own is simple: dump all this into a bowl and whisk together with a fork. If there is any left it is delicious over cold noodles. Just like I used to have on my lunch break when I worked in a thai restaurant in Greenwich Village eons ago!

3/4 cup natural-style creamy peanut butter (I used sunflower seed butter)
1/4 cup of water
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice (from about 1 1/2 medium limes)
4-5 teaspoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
2-3 teaspoons chile-garlic paste (I used sriracha)
1 medium garlic clove, mashed to a paste (I forgot this step but will try it next time)
1/2 teaspoon toasted sesame oil