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| Bánh Mì |
Bánh mì, a Vietnamese term referring to all types of bread according to Wikipedia:
The baguette was introduced by the French during their colonial period in Vietnam and is commonly used for the traditional banh mi. Personally, I like to simply call it
viet sub.
The traditional viet sub would usually include: assorted meats, liver pâté, pickled carrots and turnips, fresh cucumbers and cilantro. Hot peppers can also be added.
I actually have a viet sub in my fridge so I can show you what it looks like for those who have not seen it before:
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| Banh Mi without Veges |
... as you can see here, this is the Banh Mi. The veges are kept separated so it does not make the bread wet and soggy. The best viet sub is eaten fresh and toasted! There is a really cool picture of the Banh Mi unstacked here:
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUaNyA77Gxs63csC7yDmNm2_jinTWdD0P5R0TRUzrAEiBFiogKAAw-kNTFjyo0sWmnWaeGTsyqyUal0yfc1YONeUXpL6_rO4dkmGfpK_fGs6NHcbnfAsnTPd2IU6WNsu0A8yW0tmjU4sDz/s1600/08banh.1-1000.jpg
I often brought this for lunch to school last year. Even though it is good (though I do get sick of it), I knew all this stuff can't be all that good for ya. So I'm going to switch it up and show you how to create a fantastic viet sub that is good for you!
The Banh Mi Switch Up!:
Ingredients include:
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| Tofu Package like this |
- multigrain baguette - if you want to use a regular french baguette that's fine too
- a spread of your choice - I used avocado
- extra-firm tofu in a water-packed package - any other texture won't come out well, so make sure you get the EXTRA FIRM TOFU!
- vinegar - white, apple cider, you can use any vinegar really. I used regular white vinegar since it was what I had in my pantry
- a sweetener of your choice (white/brown/raw sugar, agave, etc.) - I used brown sugar
- soy sauce or tamari - best to use one that is low in sodium!
- hoisin sauce
- sesame oil
- 1 carrot
- 1 cucumber
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| Watermelon Radish |
- 1 watermelon radish... wait what? - I know, I've never heard of the melon radish until Cris showed it to me. It's a bizarre plant that tastes and has a similar texture to carrots and turnips. It doesn't taste like radish, it tastes more like a very very crunchy pear that is a little (and when I say a little I mean A LITTLE) sweet. It's called watermelon radish because it looks like a watermelon and a radish!
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I did not put turnips because I didn't have any, but they are delicious pickled! I also did not have any cilantro, but that can be added or omitted.
Preparation:
Take your tofu package and remove the tofu. Put it in a clean cheese cloth or paper towel for the water to drain. Here's an example of how one of my favourite youtubers runnyrunny999 drain's his tofu:
*please note that this is a completely different dish!
Draining tofu does take time, (about 30 mins to an hour) so you can prep the other ingredients.
I actually did not drain my tofu, I just wrapped it around some paper towels and soaked up whatever moisture I can (However next time I will take some time to drain it so the tofu would be less wet and soaks up more flavour when I make it).
1 part soy sauce/tamari and 1 part hoisin sauce and a drizzle of sesame oil, mix it up to create the marinade and set aside.
Slice tofu into about 1/2 inch thick slices. I was able to make 8 slices of tofu with my box of tofu.
Place tofu in your marinade and let it marinade overnight in the fridge, turning once. My dish here was not able to place all the tofu at the bottom so I had to stack them. Hopefully you have a pan that can fit all your tofu so you don't have to do what I did.
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| Tofu being marinaded. |
Peel carrot and watermelon radish
. After cut carrot and watermelon radish into either thin match sticks or thicker (1/4 inch). I chose to cut them into thin match sticks (with the help of my mom).
One part white vinegar and 1/4 part sugar, mix them together until sugar dissolves.
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| Vinegar Mixture |
Put the vinegar mixture in a container or jar with your veges. Fill it to the top. Make more if necessary!
(I needed about 3-4 bowls!) Let it soak the vinegar for at least one hour.
When you are ready to cook, baked the tofu at 340-375F for about 30 mins (
I make it at 375F for the first 20 mins and then 350F, turning the tofu and let it bake for another 10 mins).
NOTE: from experience do not add the rest of the sauce to bake. Just the tofu is fine. When I added extra sauce to bake with the tofu it made my tofu break!
Cut your multigrain baguette in half, slice across. You can toast the bread if you want.
* I highly recommend using a serrated knife, as I learned in my food preparation class that this knife cuts breads best.
Choose a spread of your choice. I used avocado since I had some. The avocado gives the viet sub a creamy filling, and it's healthier. I spread the avocado on both sides of the bread.
Arrange your pickled veges. Use as much or as little as you like!
With cucumbers, I prefer to keep the fresh taste so I did not pickle them. I sliced it length wise, but you can cut it anyway you like.
Place tofu on the bread....
and ta-da! The Banh Mi switch up!
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| A delicious and nutritious lunch! |
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| Mmmmm... |
The verdict? DELISHHHHH~! I honestly couldn't believe something like this could taste so good! I honestly think it is comparable (and maybe even better!) than the original viet sub!
This sandwich (6inch) actually kept me full for about 4 hours. I am the type of person who eats frequently and gets hungry fast, so I was surprised it kept me full for so long. Would I make it again?
HELL YES!
I have to give Cris credit for introducing this recipe to me! I will be making this for school as one of my staple lunches.
Some may be asking, "so Joey.... where's the meat?" I actually never mentioned that there is no meat in this sandwich. But that's okay, because it really does taste great as it is. Give this recipe a try!
Combine dry ingredients first, and then slowly combine your buttermilk until you get a somewhat runny (but not too runny!) pancake mixture.
