Jeremy’s Baguette Bánh Mì

Method

1. 1

   Ahead. Active Time: about 15 minutes

2. 2

   Ahead. Chop the lemongrass into small pieces. Take the skins off of 6 garlic cloves and the shallot. Remove the roots from the garlic cloves and shallot. Put all of the ingredients into a blender or food processor. Add the brown sugar, fish sauce, paprika, soy sauce, sesame oil, and the pinch of MSG to the blender with the alliums. Blend until fairly smooth. This is your pork marinade.

3. 3

   Ahead. Slice the pork shoulder into thin slices. And pat dry with paper towels. Coat the pork in the marinade and leave covered with plastic overnight in the refrigerator. It’s best to use a non-metal container for this or a plastic bag, as metal will oxidize your meat faster.

4. 4

   Peel and cut the daikon and carrot into matchsticks.

5. 5

   Combine one cup rice wine vinegar, one cup sugar, a half cup of water, a Pinch of truffle salt or flaky sea salt, and a pinch of chili powder to a small pot. Bring up to a boil and then drop in your matchstick carrot and daikon. Turn off heat and let them steep. These are the pickled vegetables.

6. 6

   Slice the scallions, cucumber, and jalapeno.

7. 7

   In a small bowl, whisk together the kewpie mayo with as much of the sriracha as you’d like! Tuck likes it spicy ! This is our sriracha mayo spread.

8. 8

   Heat your large saute pan over high heat. Add the canola oil and wait until it's nearly smoking before you add the pork slices.

9. 9

   Once browned on the outside, drop the heat to medium and cook until tender, should be about 140F internal temp (medium). Set on a plate to rest.

10. 10

    Time for Bahn Mi assembly!

11. 11

    Cut open that fresh, warm baguette. Add your sriracha mayo to both sides of the baguette. Layer in pork, pickled veg, cucumber, and jalapenos. Top it with scallions and you are ready to dig in!