Easy banh mi

Swap out the filling for any of your favourite cold meats in these lunchboxes favourites.

Vietnamese sandwich Credit: One World Kitchen

• makes

  2

• prep

  10 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

• 2 Vietnamese baguettes
• 8 slices of Country Pate (see note)
• ½ cucumber, cut in long thin slices
• ½ cup (125 ml) pickled daikon and carrot (store-bought)
• 6 sprigs of coriander, leaves only
• 2 tbsp (40 ml) hoisin sauce
• 1 tbsp (20 ml) dark soy sauce
• 1 tsp (5 ml) Sriracha sauce
• Juice and zest of 1 lime
• ¼ cup mayonnaise

Instructions

1. In a mixing bowl, whisk together hoisin sauce, soy sauce, Sriracha sauce, lime juice, and lime zest.
 
2. Cut baguettes in half.
 
3. Spread mayonnaise and sauce over top half of baguette.
 
4. Evenly place slices of Country Pate on bottom half of baguette.
 
5. Top with cucumber slices, pickled carrot and daikon, and cilantro leaves.

Note:

● To make the country pate, heat 2 tsp butter in a pan over medium-high heat. Add 1 sliced onion and cook for 4-5 minutes. Deglaze with 1 ½ tbsp white wine, and continue cooking for 1 minute. Remove from heat. Add 1 kg ground pork and 10 slices finely chopped bacon to a mixing bowl. Add sautéed onions, 1 tbsp fish sauce, 2 tsp salt and ½ tsp pepper, and mix until well combined. Add the mixture to a food processor, and blend for 1-2 minutes, or until slightly smooth. Transfer mixture to a greased 10cm x 20cm glass dish. Using your fingertips, pat the mixture down until it is evenly spread and tightly packed. Cover dish with aluminium foil, and place in a deep baking dish. Add water to the baking dish until it reaches halfway up the glass dish. Place baking dish in oven and cook for 90 minutes. Remove baking dish from oven, and remove glass dish from water. Let cool and chill for 1 hour. Once chilled, remove pate from glass dish and slice into thin slices.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.