This loose meat sandwich is Vietnamese inspired and full of flavor. Easy enough for a weeknight and portable enough to bring to the field.
WHAT IS A BAHN MI?
The name bahn mi translates to “bread“ but take one bite of a classic bahn mi sandwich and you will notice a lot more going on besides the deliciously flaky crust of the bread that holds it together. Typically it’s stuffed with a combination of meats, pickled vegetables, and other condiments. The overall balance of all these flavors and textures is what makes the sandwich stand out. You will have a little sweet, sour, salty, and spicy in each bite.
I started making this bahn mi inspired loose meat sandwich using ground meat a few years back when we were trying to make room in the freezer. If a sloppy Joe and a bahn mi had a baby, it might end up looking something like this!
WHAT YOU WILL NEED
Ground meat. I have used ground pork and ground beef for this recipe because we always have a pile of one or the other in our deep freezer.
Pickled veggies. I use a combination of cucumber, carrot, and radish sliced very thin and then soak it in rice vinegar and a little sugar. In these photos I happened to have some preserved radish to use up, you can use fresh daikon radish (a larger white variety with a milder taste) or the typical red/white radish you’ll find in most stores.
Cilantro and mint. The combination of chopped cilantro with mint gives the bahn mi the aromaticity that it’s known for.
Jalapeño. You can either omit these entirely or remove the seeds and soak in water if you aren’t a fan of spice.
Bread. The official bahn mi bread is similar to a French baguette but more flaky on the outside and softer on the inside. It’s not available where I live so I always use the freshly baked sub rolls at the grocery store bakery. I toast them to make them a little more flaky.
METHOD
STEP 1: Make the pickled veggies. Slice the carrot, cucumber, and radish into matchsticks. I like to use a julienne peeler or a mandolin, the point here is to make them very thin. Then soak it in the rice vinegar and sugar.
STEP 2: Start browning the meat in a frying pan over med-high heat. Mix together the minced garlic, fish sauce, soy sauce, half of the green onions. Add it to the meat mixture while it’s cooking.
STEP 3: Once the meat is cooked through, remove it from the heat. And let it cool for 5min while you chopped up the cilantro and mint.
STEP 4: Mix the sriracha, remaining green onions, and mayonnaise together. Add the sriracha mayo to the cooked beef, mix well.
STEP 5: Assemble the sandwich! Start with your toasted sub roll and layer on the meat, sliced jalapeños, pickled veggies, and top with the cilantro mix. Enjoy!
Beefy Bahn Mi Sandwiches
Ingredients
Pickled Vegetables
- 2 carrots julienned sliced
- 2 mini cucumbers julienned sliced
- 1 daikon radish (or 4 red radishes) julienned sliced
- 1 TBSP sugar
- ⅓ cup rice vinegar
- ¼ tsp salt
Meat Filling
- 1 ½ lbs ground meat (beef or pork)
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 2 TBSP soy sauce
- 2 TBSP fish sauce
- 1 tsp sugar
- ¼ cup mayonaise
- 2 TBSP sriracha
- 4 TBSP green onions chopped
Other Ingredients
- 4 large sub rolls
- 1 jalapeño sliced thin
- ½ bunch cilantro chopped
- 2 TBSP fresh mint chopped
Instructions
- Combine carrots, cucumber, radish, sugar, rice vinegar, and salt in a bowl. Set aside.
- Brown the meat in a frying pan or wok over med-high heat. Mix together the minced garlic, fish sauce, soy sauce, half of the green onions, and remaining teaspoon of sugar. Add it to the meat mixture while it's cooking.
- Once the meat is cooked through, remove from heat and let it cool for 5min.
- Mix the sriracha, mayonnaise, and remaining green onions together. Add it to the meat and stir well.
- Assemble the sandwiches. Start by toasting your sub roll in the toaster or toaster oven for 2-3min. Add a layer of meat, sliced jalapeño, pickled veggies, and then the cilantro and mint. Enjoy!
Anjouli is a Midwestern farmwife and mom to two little boys. By day she works within the Healthcare industry and by night she’s always trying something new in the kitchen. Follow along to see what she’s feeding her farmers!
