Pork Meatball Bánh Mì

Gosh!  As I start to post this, I realize that it has been a very long time since I posted anything on this blog.  A little more often, I tend to post to a Facebook page also called Jim's Place for Food and Booze where this will ultimately also show up.  This recipe is special, though, so here I am.


Bánh Mì are spicy Vietnamese sandwiches that are full of fresh crunchy vegetables and yummy meats. This is a version with pork meatballs which Kathy and I think is very good, but I can almost guarantee that it will vary a bit each time I make it in the future.

I am only slightly embarrassed to say that I "borrowed" the photo above from the internet.  This photo looks something like what I made yesterday (except that mine was messier).  But I had no expectations when I was cooking that I would convert my effort to a post, so I never thought of taking a photo.  I do have leftover meatballs, though, so I will get around to making this again soon and will replace the photo then  Update:  I found a photo I took the first time I tried Bánh Mì back in November.  Not the exact one that I made from the recipe below, but close, and I like my own picture better than the one I had borrowed...

I made this recipe up the way I do most of my cooking -- I look at a number of recipes and then just do what I feel like.  For this one, I relied on one I found on the King Arthur Flour site, and another one from the Lardo food truck in Portland, Oregon that was posted on the Eat St. web site.  (The King Arthur site is a favorite of mine for both flour and supplies, and for recipes. And I know even though I have not been there yet that I will have to seek out Lardo the next time I am in Portland.)

The recipe that follows is not spicy enough for Leslie and Joe, and probably a bit too spicy for Lisa and (our other) Joe.  But if you make it, you will know how much spice you like, and it will be good however you want to adjust it.

Pork Meatball Bánh Mì

Yield: 4 good-sized sandwiches

Ingredients MEATBALLS 1 lb ground pork 1 Tbs sriracha 1 Tbs fish sauce 1 Tbs sugar 6 scallions, chopped 1 large egg 1/4 cup Panko breadcrumbs 1 1/2 tsp salt SALAD 3 large carrots, grated 12 small radishes, grated (same volume as carrots) 3 Tbs rice vinegar 1/4 cup sugar 1/2 tsp salt 1 Tbs sesame oil SRIRACHA MAYO 1 cup mayonnaise 4 scallions, thinly sliced 1 Tbs sriracha (more for Chithors and Elbles) 1/4 tsp sesame oil SANDWICHES baguettes, enough for 4 pieces 8"-9" long 4 jalapeño peppers, seeded and cut into bite sized pieces 6 inch piece of English cucumber, thinly sliced 1 bunch fresh cilantro, coarsely chopped

How to Make For the meatballs: Mix together all ingredients. Only use enough Panko to bind the mixture without drying it out or making it heavy. Form 1" meatballs with damp hands. You should make about 24 meatballs, enough for 6 meatballs for each sandwich. Sear in a pan until golden brown on all sides. Place in a baking dish, and bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit until the meatballs’ internal temperature reaches 165 degrees Fahrenheit, approximately 20 minutes. For the salad: Combine all ingredients and set aside.   For the sriracha mayo: Mix ingredients together. You can adjust the amount of sriracha sauce to your desired level of spiciness. For the sandwiches: Slice the baguette pieces part way through and spread open. Spread the sriracha mayo on both sides, add a layer of cucumber slices, then top with meatballs, salad, jalapeno chunks, and a generous amount of cilantro.

Author: Jim Thoreen Source: Adapted from a recipe found on the King Arthur Flour web site, and one from the Lardo food truck in Portland, Oregon, which was posted on the Eat St. web site. See links, below.

Notes You may choose to use daikon radish in the salad, which is more traditional, but harder to find in rural America. I actually prefer red radishes to daikon, though. I found Sky Valley Sriracha Sauce at a Whole Foods Market. It tastes very good, and is not filled with all the usual chemicals found in most commercial brands. Learn more about it, and where else you can buy it, at http://organicvillefoods.com/products/condiments/sriracha-sauce/ A good recipe at http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/bnh-m-recipe started my at-home exploration of Bánh Mì . The King Arthur Flour company is a favorite of mine for both their flours and supplies, and their recipes. The Lardo food truck, and now restaurants, in Portland, Oregon look like must-go destinations if you are lucky enough to be in that city. Their Bánh Mì recipe is posted at http://eatst.foodnetwork.ca/tvshow/recipe/133/pork-meatball-banh-mi/

Pullman Sandwich Loaf

I have seen these Pullman Loaf Pans for years, and they seemed like a good idea, but I just never got around to trying one until recently.  It turns out that it makes a great loaf of sandwich bread, and the recipe I am sharing today is what Wonder Bread should have been -- it has a great potato bread flavor that is just slightly sweet, and a substantial texture.  Unlike the large, puffy slices you get with commercial sandwich breads, the texture allows a fairly thin slice that is a much more reasonable size.
The pan that I bought is 13" long and comes from USA Pans, which I highly recommend.  Their pans are commercial-grade and reasonably priced, and have a non-stick surface that is silicone based (instead of that scary Teflon stuff). And they are made right here in the good old U.S.A.

After I bought the pan, I searched for good recipes and found the one below on the King Arthur Flour web site, one of my go-to places for bread recipes and flour.  (Turns out that King Arthur also likes and sells USA Pans products.)

Pain de Mie (Pullman Sandwich Bread)

This delicious, fine-grained loaf is perfect for sandwiches and toast -- including French toast and melba toast. (That's what King Arthur Flour people say.) This is 10 times better than any white sandwich bread you can buy at the store, and it's as easy to make as it is to go get store bought. (That's what I say.)

Yield: 1 Loaf (13" pullman pan)

Ingredients 2/3 cup (5 3/8 ounces) milk 1 cup (8 ounces) water 6 Tbs (3 ounces) butter 2 1/4 tsp salt 3 Tbs (1 1/4 ounces) sugar 1/4 cup (1 1/8 ounces) Baker's Special Dry Milk or nonfat dry milk 3 Tbs (1 1/4 ounces) potato flour 4 3/4 cups (20 ounces) King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour 2 tsp instant yeast

How to Make 1 Manual Method: In a large bowl, combine the milk, water, butter, salt and sugar. Add the dried milk, flours and yeast, stirring till the dough starts to leave the sides of the bowl. Transfer the dough to a lightly greased surface, oil your hands, and knead it for 5 to 8 minutes, or until it's smooth and supple. Because of the relatively high fat content of this dough, it's a real pleasure to work with. Transfer the dough to a lightly greased bowl or dough-rising bucket, cover the bowl or bucket, and allow the dough to rise till puffy though not necessarily doubled in bulk, about 1 1/2 hours, depending on the warmth of your kitchen. 2 Mixer Method: Combine the ingredients as above, using a flat beater paddle or beaters, then switch to the dough hook(s) and knead for 5 to 8 minutes. Transfer the dough to a lightly greased bowl or dough-rising bucket, cover the bowl or bucket, and allow the dough to rise till doubled in bulk, 1 to 2 hours. 3 Bread Machine Method: Place all of the ingredients into the pan of your machine, program the machine for Manual or Dough, and press Start. When the cycle is finished, remove the dough and proceed as follows. 4 Lightly grease a 13 x 4-inch pain de mie pan. Transfer the risen dough to a lightly greased work surface, shape it into a 13-inch log, and fit it into the pan. Cover the pan with lightly greased plastic wrap, and allow the dough to rise until it's just below the lip of the pan, 45 minutes to 1 hour, depending on the warmth of your kitchen (it may rise even more slowly in a cool kitchen; don't worry, this long rise will give it great flavor). 5 Remove the plastic, and carefully place the cover on the pan, let it rest an additional 10 minutes while you preheat your oven to 350°F. Bake the bread for 25 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven, carefully remove the lid, and return the bread to the oven to bake for an additional 20 minutes, or until it tests done; an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center will register 190°F. Remove the bread from the oven, and turn it out of the pan onto a rack to cool completely. Yield: 1 loaf.

Oven Temperature: 350°F

Source: King Arthur Flour Web Page: http://www.kingarthurflour.com

Tips If you live in the sticks, you might not find potato flour. I just find the plainest instant mashed potatoes I can, the ones in little packets, and use that instead. Works great! I don't need a big box of nonfat dry milk sitting around when I only use a little bit for this bread. Find the small packets and buy a few to have around. I saw on the King Arthur web site that you could use powdered buttermilk in place of the nonfat dried milk.

I happen to have an electric knife that gets used very infrequently.  (I got it primarily for cutting biscotti, but that is a recipe for another time)  It is perfect for slicing this bread into slices that are just the right thickness for sandwiches -- just enough bread to hold the contents without overwhelming them.  Of course, the knife works just as well if you want to cut the bread thicker for some really awesome French Toast.

Cuban Sandwich

Kathy and I first learned to love Cuban Sandwiches when we lived in Tampa in the early 70's and had the benefit of living in a city with a major Cuban heritage. I never really thought a recipe was necessary - they are about as simple as a sandwich could be.  But someone asked and I realized that there are a lot of people that have not been so lucky as to have experienced the Cuban foods that are such an integral part of life in Tampa and Miami.

As with many traditional foods, there are those that will get pretty snooty with you if you don't follow their idea of what the traditional recipe is. Some say that you should butter the (inside) bread before putting the sandwich together.  Most recipes say that mayonnaise does not ever belong, but I like mayonnaise anyway.  I also like additions and substitutions like provolone or some hot sauce or slivers of hot green chiles.

The cookbook from the Columbia Restaurant, a very famous century old Spanish restaurant in the Ybor City neighborhood of Tampa has this to say: "The authentic Cuban sandwich has roast pork that has been marinated Cuban-style with sour orange juice, garlic, and oregano.  Sugar-cured ham cut in thin slices is a very important part of this delicious sandwich.  And it has to have hard salami, not bologna which some people use.  There's also Swiss cheese and sour pickle.  Most everyone today uses dill pickle, but it should be sour pickle.  Yellow mustard is spread on one of the slices.  It has to be cut diagonally, and it has to be wrapped in tissue paper.  If it's not wrapped, with a toothpick through the paper, it's not right."

If you feel like taking the effort to make the sandwich like the Columbia Restaurant does, you can't go wrong.  My advice though, is to use the general recipe idea and enjoy whatever variation you like.  The one in the picture above was as good as any I ever had in Tampa.