taste this . . . veggie bahn mi.

despite the fact that i love all types of asian cuisine, i have somehow neglected to try vietnamese food until my recent trip to portland. while there, hubby and i visited a lovely little place called silk vietnamese restaurant, where i fell head-over-heels in love with their delicious bahn mi.

a banh mi is basically just a sandwich, but let me tell you it is no ordinary sandwich. you start with a freshly-baked french baguette, then pile on toppings like pickled veggies, spicy jalapenos, and fresh cilantro. total flavor explosion!

i've been trying to take advantage of my local farmer's market as much as possible this season, so i was thrilled when i found a recipe for a vegetarian banh mi courtesy of raspberry eggplant.

it seemed a little intimidating at first because there are a lot of components to the recipe, but it really is simple to make and doesn't require a lot of specialty ingredients. oh yeah, and it was DELICIOUS. seriously... try it. you'll thank me later. check out the photos of my version above if you're not convinced :)

Banh Mi Chay

(Serves 2-3)

For the pickled carrots:
½ cup rice vinegar
2 tablespoons sugar
½ teaspoon salt
2 carrots

For the marinated mushrooms:
Juice of ½ lime (about 2 tablespoons)
2 tablespoons light brown sugar
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
2 teaspoons soy sauce
2 cloves of garlic, minced
¼ teaspoon sriracha sauce
3 portobello mushroom caps (about 6 ounces total), cut into 1” strips

For the sandwich:
1 large baguette
2-3 tablespoons mayonnaise
½ medium-sized seedless cucumber
½ jalapeno pepper, thinly sliced
¼ cup cilantro leaves
1 teaspoon soy sauce

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Make the pickled carrots:
In a small saucepan, bring the vinegar, sugar, and salt to a boil. Remove the mixture from the heat and let it cool for 5 minutes.

In the meantime, peel and coarsely shred or finely julienne the carrots, then transfer the shredded carrots to a non-reactive bowl or container. Pour the vinegar mixture over the carrots. Refrigerate overnight. (If you’re in a rush, you can leave it at room temperature for an hour, but overnight is best.)

Prepare the mushrooms:
Mix all the ingredients for the marinade in a quart-sized plastic bag. Add the mushroom strips and marinate overnight in the refrigerator or for 1 hour at room temperature.

Assemble the sandwich:
Heat oven to 400° F.

Put the marinated mushroom strips and the marinade in a baking dish and bake until the mushrooms are soft, about 12 minutes. Let them cool for at least 5 minutes.

Cut the baguette open by slicing it in half but not going all the way through. Spread the mayonnaise on one side of the baguette. Place the baguette on a baking sheet and heat it until it is crisp and lightly browned, about 6-8 minutes. Let it cool for a few minutes before assembling the sandwich.

In the meantime, cut the cucumber lengthwise into ¼” thick slices and squeeze the liquid out of the pickled carrots.

Assemble the sandwich by arranging the cucumber slices in a single layer on the baguette, then topping them with the mushrooms, pickled carrots, and cilantro. Sprinkle the soy sauce on top and close the sandwich.

Cut into 3 or 4 sections and serve.