food to glow

Banh Mi is one of those foods that anyone interested in food must try at least once in their life. It is simply a stunning confluence of colours, flavours and textures. And yes, it is a sandwich. A humble sandwich.

But what a sandwich. Crispy light baguette (not the chewy kind), tangy lightly pickled vegetables, creamy mayonnaise and, um, steamed liver pate. Well, it used to be liver pate and tiles of sliced cold meats. Now almost any protein seems eligible for the banh mi treatment, but usually still meat: grilled pork and pork skin, roasted chicken, seared beef. In some cafes and off some food carts the original light-style sandwich can still be found: a smear of seasoned mayo, a few thin slices of meat, a light hand with the veg and herbs. Once it went Stateside things naturally went large. I think this is somewhere in between. And no meat, of course. Thankfully tofu and mushrooms offer up a very excellent alternative for vegetarians, and those who don’t fancy the meat option. I have had a tempura-ed tofu version of banh mi recently, and must confess to thinking that I could do a bit better. The rest of the banh mi – from the heavy-handed slathering of gingered wasabi mayonnaise (that’s a good thing, btw), to the freshly made daikon pickle, not forgetting the crisp-to-shattering baguette – were en pointe. It was just the bland tofu that let it down.

The history of banh mi is shorter than you would think, rising from late 18th century French colonial chicness in Saigon – white crisp French-style baguettes being both expensive and exclusive – to Vietnamese street food, and now cafes world-wide selling these flavourful and texture-intense sandwiches. I would have one everyday if I could get away with it. To get a little closer to this notional culinary goal, but without the waist-band challenging implications of a baguette a day, I have come up with a salad version. Obviously it is not a banh mi as such, seeing as the words banh mi translate as “bread made from wheat”. But everything else is here. And why not have a slice of bread on the side in any case. I’m not the carb police, that’s for sure.

If you are lucky enough to have a Vietnamese or even Chinese bakery near you, RUN there right now and grab a baguette. A fancy rustic artisan-type baguette is wrong for this recipe – the crust a bit too thick and chewy (you have to tear and pull rather than swiftly bite into it), and the inside doesn’t quite ‘hug’ the filling and prevent it from firing out as soon as you bite into it. But we can approximate, of course. Any baguette that you can bite into and the crust shatters a bit/a lot, shards scattering embarrassingly on the table or floor, then you are definitely on the right track. I was in luck on my first try – a baguette from my local Scotmid corner shop, baked by local baker’s The Breadwinner. I’m pretty sure it had not a speck of rice flour in it (this seems to be what makes Vietnamese bread so special), but shatter it did. Here is a guide to finding – and perhaps even baking – the perfect banh mi loaf.

And as for the perfect vegetarian filling, it really has to be mushrooms. Portobello is my choice – thick, with a proper bite and chew to them. But button, chestnut or field mushrooms are great too; the heft of Portobello is just easier to sear and then load onto the sandwich. The great thing about mushrooms here in the UK is that they are available year-round and are grown here too. If you have never marinated and sautéed mushrooms you may be pleasantly surprised how very good they are this way. Make double of the mushrooms to have the next day in a wrap, in an omelet, as a salad (see the image), blitzed and added to soft cheese as a dip. Or do as I did and just pick extras out of the pan and eat them standing at the hob. 🙂

Disclosure: I am happy to say that this post has been sponsored by Just Add Mushrooms, run by The Mushroom Bureau. Their website is full of ideas and info about this hugely versatile, low-calorie and nutritious food. You can also find them on Facebook, Tumblr,  Twitter and YouTube.

 

Popping this veggie-tastic sarnie over to Emily for her Recipe of the Week link-up. Why don’t you link up your recipe as well?