The Nerdy Foodie

Christmas Eve Dinner: Banh Mi Baguettes

Posted on December 24, 2011 Updated on December 25, 2011

Banh mi’s are delicious Vietnamese pork sandwiches. The pork loin, hot off the grill, sweet and spicy, is topped with crisp, cool slaw and layered on a fresh baguette with mayonnaise. Each bite is filled with different complimenting flavors and the heat of the pork is cooled perfectly with the creamy mayo.

I’ve tried these sandwiches at three different restaurants in town, each serving very authentic Vietnamese cuisine. I took what was traditional, what I liked from each, and brought those flavor ideas home to create this recipe. That’s the fantastic thing about cooking recipes like this: You taste it as you go along and can tweak it so it is uniquely you. And a person should never be afraid to try new recipes. The worst case scenario is that they don’t come out properly and you have to get take out.

First assemble the slaw.

3/4 cup julienned carrots

3/4 cup julienned radishes

1/2 cup julienned cucumber

1 cup thinnly sliced red cabbage

1 1/2 tbsp sugar

1-2 tbsp fresh chopped cilantro

1/4 rice or white vinegar

a pinch of salt and freshly ground black pepper

Next I marinate pork loin for an hour or two. The marinade varies and, again, this is all up to your personal tastes, but what I do is based on the flavors of the pork from the Vietnamese sandwich shops here.

2 pounds pork center cut loin chops, pounded thin

1 tsp sesame oil

3 tbsp teriyaki glaze

2 tbsp sriracha chili sauce – this is the heat

1 tbsp minced garlic

Tonight I cooked these on high heat in a cast on pan; it’s December, it’s cold, it’s rainy. This caramelized the sweetness of the teriyaki perfectly into charred deliciousness on the edges of the pork loins. Once all the pork was browned, juicy, and cooked through, about 2-3 minutes per side, I allowed my guests to make their own sandwiches. Each was given an entire demi or half of a full fresh baked baguette and was free to pile it high with pig, slaw, and Christmas joy. I served this with bacon and shallot braised Brussels sprouts and baked sweet potato fries. The perfect very relaxed, very delicious Christmas Eve dinner.