Tofu Vietnamese Sandwich

maybe you've heard of a 'banh mi' ?.. you've probably seen them at a pho restaurant before. simple vietnamese sandwiches full of tangy pickled vegetable and tofu (or beef, etc) on a soft baguette or roll. i myself have never ordered one at a restaurant, but have stolen bites from friends to try it. delicious and so simple, the kind of dish i'd rather make at home than spend $8 on. so here was my first attempt at the banh mi:




ciabatta rolls or a soft baguette
extra firm tofu, thinly sliced
jalapenos, thinly sliced (remove seeds if you don't like spice)
2 large carrots, cut into thin matchsticks
1 bunch radishes, thinly sliced
1 cup vinegar
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 cucumber, thinly sliced
cilantro, stems removed
mayo (or vegan mayo if you swing that way...)
chili paste or sweet-chili sauce

traditionally, this sandwich is made with pickled daikon and carrots. instead, i pickled radish and carrot since i had a bunch sitting in my fridge. try either, but radish is a bit more mellow of a flavor if you're not feeling to adventurous or can't find daikon. I made my pickled vegetables a day in advance, but if you can't think that far in advance, give them at least 3 hours to pickle! start by peeling your carrots, then slice them into thin matchsticks about 2 inches long. trim the radishes and clean! (i don't know where you get your radishes, but my are always covered in soil) place veggies into a large bowl and sprinkle with a teaspoon of salt. using your hands, massage/squeeze the salted vegetables for about 4 minutes until the carrots become tender. in a small bowl, mix 1 cup of regular vinegar (white balsamic is ok, but not wine or cider vinegars) with 1/2 cup warm water and 1 tablespoon sugar. poor this mixture over the vegetables and let sit in the fridge for 3 hours or more. these will also save well in the fridge for a few days to add to salads or veggie wraps!

once your pickled vegetables are ready, you can fry up some tofu. or if you are skilled at baked tofu, by all means go right ahead. we fry our firm tofu without pressing out extra water, but if you're tofu feels a bit bouncy still, it's best to press the slices between trays or plates surrounded by a towel and let sit for 15 minutes or so. in a large cast iron skillet, heat up several tablespoons of vegetable or peanut oil. fry the tofu slices in batches, letting each side brown before flipping. add oil to the pan after each batch, as the tofu will soak up some of the oil. let cool on a paper towel.

to assemble, stir up a few tablespoons of mayo with chili paste or sweet chili sauce and spread onto your bread. pile on all the veggies on top of a few slices of tofu ... and enjoy!

chips and dip

this sack of pita bread and an eggplant have been wallowing at the bottom of my fridge, sadly forgotten until today when i was inspired to make a bit of baba ghanoush and pita chips. such a simple dip to make as long as you have a supply of tahini on hand - otherwise making hummus or baba ghanoush might require an extra trip to a specialty shop for ingredients. and pita chips are almost as easy to make as buttered toast. seriously.


baba ghanoush:
1 eggplant, cut length wise
3 tablespoons tahini
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 clover garlic, minced
2 tablespoons olive oil
sea salt & pepper to taste

drizzle a bit of oil on the bottom of a baking dish and swirl the eggplant in the oil to coat. bake eggplant face up in a 475 degree oven for about 40 minutes until very tender and golden brown. once removed from the oven, let cool before diving in with a spoon to scoop out the flesh of the eggplant - (i like to snack on the charred eggplant skin, but maybe i'm just odd). in a food processor, blend the eggplant innards and the remaining ingredients until smooth. drizzle with olive oil to serve. (makes about 2-3 servings)


pita chips:

kitchen scissors are incredibly helpful here... but i suppose you could get crafty with a pairing knife. simply cut the pita bread in half, and then carefully separate the pocket so that you are able to cut along the edge of the pita ... you will create 4 half moon shapes out of each pita pocket. it's easiest to oil the pita at this point, by brushing a little olive oil onto the inside of each half moon. once you've cut and oiled as many pita pockets as you want, cut each half moon into thirds - making little triangles! from here, you can sprinkle with salt, pepper or herbs. i love smoked paprika mixed in with my olive oil, or today i mixed in some turkish aleppo red pepper flakes (random side note: i discovered this amazing pepper in turkey, duh, and have been hooked ever since. i brought home an absurdly large stash of it back from turkey, but have since refilled my stash of aleppo through penzeys... just fyi) bake your seasoned pita chips in a pre-heated 450 degree oven, turning every few minutes, until browned. let cool on a paper grocery bag or parchment paper.