Oh, the great banh mi. It’s among my absolute favorite foods around the world. Banh mi are similar to what’s known as the Vietnamese version of submerged sandwiches. They can contain many different items, yet they typically include some fatty meat that is paired with pickled vegetables that are tangy and hot jalapeno. Although banh literally means bread or cake, I decided to incorporate these classic banh mi flavors and turn them into a bowl-style meal instead of a sandwich. Thus, the somewhat ambiguous name for the dish is “banh mi bowls.” If you wish to make a sandwich, simply serve the entire meal on a baguette, not serving it in a bowl with rice.
WHAT’S IN A BANH MI BOWL?
Banh mi can be stuffed with any animal (cold cuts, liver pate, char siu chicken, meatballs, whatever). However, I chose to make use of the delicious meatballs included in the Teriyaki Meatball Bowls. I made a few minor changes to the meatballs to make up for the fact they aren’t covered in teriyaki sauce; however, you can drizzle them with the teriyaki sauce and put them in your banh mi!
Additionally, I did not have daikon (radish), so I added onions to the carrots that I had picked. I know that I am… not exactly traditional; however, “tastes good” trumps “traditional” in my book.
It is recommended to add some sauce in the bowls to add moisture, but I didn’t incorporate that into the price since A) I’m not sure what type of sauce you’d like to use and A) I’m not sure the amount you’ll need to utilize. There are a few options for you: soy sauce, sriracha, and teriyaki sauce. If you’re making the actual banh mi sandwich, be sure to put mayo on the bread and sprinkle with soy sauce because that’s what it is.
carrots ($0.27)
One onion ($0.32)
1/2 cup rice vinegar ($0.25)
White sugar 1/4 cup ($0.08)
1/2 tsp salt ($0.03)
1/2 cup of water ($0.00)
INSTRUCTIONS
Prepare the pickled carrots before. In a small sauce pan, add sugar, vinegar as well as salt and water. Then, heat on medium-low and stir until sugar dissolves. Then turn off the flame. The carrots should be shredded or julienned and cut the onion as thinly as feasible. Combine the onion, carrots and vinegar in an container. Make sure that the ingredients are submerged completely in the liquid. Then, refrigerate for at least 30 mins (up to a week).
Then, you can begin the rice. Mix 2 cups of jasmine dry rice with 3 cups of water into a small sauce dish. Put a lid over the top and bring it to a boil on high temperatures. When it has reached an all-but-full boil then reduce the heat to a simmering level and allow it to simmer for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes then turn off the heat and let it rest, unaffected, with the lid still in place for another 15 minutes and until it’s ready utilize it.
Once the rice has been cooked and cooked, you can begin to make the meatballs. Within a bowl, mix the ground pork eggs, breadcrumbs, egg, crushed garlic, ginger-grated soy sauce, and cut green onions. Mix all of these ingredients thoroughly (your hands are the best to do this). Start by heating your oven to 400 °. Prepare a baking sheet by covering it with foil, then coat it using non-stick cooking spray. Create about 30 meatballs, about one tablespoon each. Then, place them on the baking sheet.
Cook the beefballs and meatballs in a fully-heated oven for about 25 minutes. While the meatballs are baking, cut the jalapeno thinly as well as cut it into quarters (cut thin spears, if you’re making the sandwich). Remove the cilantro leaves from the stems.
When the meatballs and rice are cooked and ready to be assembled, it’s time to serve! Place around 3/4 cup rice in the bowl’s bottom and add around four meatballs, around 1 cup pickled vegetables, onions, as well as some cilantro leaves, cucumbers, and jalapeno. Include some Soy Sauce and Sriracha or mix a little Sriracha mayo and top the bowls. Enjoy!
