Banh What?

One of my favorite sandwiches is called “bahn mi.” So you ask…what is a bahn mi? It is a Vietnamese baguette stuffed with pate, thinly sliced pork, pickled carrots, daikon, cilantro, jalapenos and a spicy sauce. It’s a perfect combination of flavor and texture in one neat little package.

So last night I was craving a bahn mi. Not willing to drive downtown to Chicago, I re-created one of my favorite street foods.

I scrapped the pork pate from the sandwich and instead focused on lean and juicy pork tenderloin. I made one of the simplest marinades you will ever make and one of the tastiest. It’s simply some sambal oelek and sugar.

Yes. That’s it.

Marinate the pork for at least one hour. Grill it on high heat until it’s pink in the middle and let it rest.

Next is the crunchy and sour combination of carrots and daikon. I  a mandolin to create long, thin julienne strips of the carrots and daikon. Combine your sugar and rice vinegar and then toss with the carrots and daikon. Season with salt to taste and let this mixture marinate for at least a half hour.

Spicy sauce. To cut down some of the fat and calories I use reduced f at mayonnaise. I prefer either Hellmann’s Low Fat Mayonnaise or Kraft Reduced Fat Mayonnaise made with Olive Oil. Combine mayonnaise and sriracha.

For the final touches, pick some cilantro leaves, thinly slice jalapenos, and cut your bread. I picked up a whole-wheat baguette from Whole Foods, adding some extra fiber and whole grains to my dinner.

Time to assemble. Smear some of that spicy sriracha sauce on the baguette. Put a heavy dose of the pickled vegetables. Top with thinly sliced pork and garnish with cilantro leaves and jalapenos and dig in!

With just a couple of adjustments, you can enjoy this street sandwich without any of the guilt and with even more flavor.

1 pound pork tenderloin

2 tbsp sugar

3 tbsp sambal oelek

2 large carrots, julienne

1 daikon, julienne

1/3 cup rice vinegar

2 tbsp sugar

½ cup reduced-fat mayonnaise

3 tbsp sriracha

cilantro sprigs

2 jalapeños, sliced

1 whole-wheat baguette, cut into 4 pieces