My Take on Banh Mi

While living in Dallas, Texas, I would often frequent the markets on the weekends. Typically the Mexican supermercados as they were in abundance, however, I would also visit quite a few Asian markets. The reason being is that all of their ingredients were much more fresh, and cheaper than the traditional grocery store. During my weekend visits to the Asian markets, which were typically located in Asian districts and embedded in plazas, I would stop in one of the smaller stores that were serving food. I would not call them restaurants because there was lack of seating, however they did serve food from the counter. One of these stores served the Banh Mi. If you have never had a Banh Mi, you have to try one in your lifetime. Banh Mi typically means salad sandwich, served with cucumber, tomato, and carrot on a french bread loaf.
The Vietnamese did this sandwich right, and the variations were typically with pork, either steamed pork, or a barbecued pork. The bbq pork was one that I really loved. The flavors were awesome and had a bit of vinegar and spice that just went well as a sandwich. I have been thinking of this sandwich for some time now, and finally got around to making it, well, making it my way.

Instead of using pork, I had some nice beef that was marinating in oyster sauce, sesame oil, black pepper, and of course garlic. I cut the steak in thin slices and broiled them, as my grill was not accessible due to the snow. I also served this on a rustic Italian loaf that I made that morning. My wife loved the sandwich so much, I cannot wait to make her one with the pork.

Ingredients:

• French or Italian Bread
• Marinated Beef (oyster sauce, garlic, pepper, sesame oil), sliced
• Cucumber, thinly sliced
• Cilantro
• Romaine lettuce, sliced
• Carrot, shredded
• 2-3 tbs of rice wine vinegar
• Splash of soy sauce
• Splash of sesame oil
• Black Pepper

Combine the vegetables in a bowl. In a small bowl, whisk the vinegar, black pepper, sesame oil, and soy sauce to make the dressing. Add the dressing to the bowl of sliced vegetables and toss to coat.

Now that your meat has already been cooked through the broiler, slice your bread, add the steak, and wrap in foil. Add to a preheated 400-degree oven for roughly five minutes, as you only want the bread to warm through. Remove from the oven and add a nice amount of vegetables to the top. Add your top slice of bread, and get ready to rumble. This one is a sandwich you will most likely come back to throughout the year. Enjoy.