It has come to my attention that there are still people in my life that haven't had a banh mi, the most magical of sandwiches. If you are one of those people, speed read this and then go out, find one and PUT IT IN YOUR MOUTH. You're welcome.
It all begins with the bread, a warm, crispy, airy, French inspired baguette. Then a swipe of mayonnaise (not on mine, you all know my disdain for the M word), a smear of pork liver pate, slices of cha lua (Vietnamese pork roll) and cured pork cold cut (yes, three different kinds of porktastic goodness!) garnished with pickled daikon and carrot, fresh cilantro leaves, cucumber and sliced jalapenos. That would be the classic version and my personal preference but if you're less adventurous and leery of trying these likely foreign to you forms of pork then opt for grilled pork or another protein of interest. (Just used the word pork six times in this paragraph. Now seven times! I need help.)
What you have now, kids, is perfection. Well, almost. Perfection truly happens when you throw on a fried egg. Yeah, you read that right. The banh mi is all contrasting temperatures, textures and flavors. Hot, cold, crunchy, creamy, chewy, sour, salty, sweet and spicy with that unctuous, gooey egg yolk on top? The ultimate food orgy.
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| Sans egg |
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| With glorious egg |
