Banh-Mi Style Vietnamese Baguette

These are by far the best sandwiches to serve your guests and yourself! The ingredients are fresh, delicious, popular and fills your mouth with marinated joy. You can usually find the high-caloric sandwich (variety of meat on mayonnaise) in your local Vietnamese baguette shop but here is a hearty Vegetarian version (if you do not use fish sauce) using portabello mushrooms.

• Preparation Time: 20 mins
• Cooking Time: 25 mins
• Total Time: 45 mins
• Calories: 760 Calories

Ingredients

• ½ cup cold water
• ⅓ cup white sugar
• ⅓ cup cold water
• ½ cup fresh lime juice
• salt and pepper to taste
• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 2 teaspoons minced garlic
• 2 teaspoons soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• ½ teaspoon toasted sesame oil
• 1 jalapeno pepper, thinly sliced
• 2 portobello mushroom caps, sliced
• 1 cup rice vinegar
• 1 carrot, sliced into sticks
• 1 daikon (white) radish, sliced into sticks
• ½ cup chilled lime juice
• 1 teaspoon nuoc mam (Vietnamese fish sauce)
• 8 sprigs fresh cilantro with stems
• 1 medium cucumber, sliced into thin strips
• 2 sprigs fresh Thai basil
• 2 (7 inch) French bread baguettes, split lengthwise

Recipe Instructions

Step 1

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C). Place the mushrooms on a baking sheet. Drizzle with a little olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast in the preheated oven for about 25 minutes. Cool slightly, then slice into strips.

Step 2

While the mushrooms are roasting, bring a saucepan of water to a boil. Plunge the carrot and radish sticks into the boiling water and after a few seconds, remove them and plunge them into a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking. In a separate bowl, stir together the rice vinegar, 1/2 cup of lime juice and 1/2 cup cold water. Transfer the carrot and radish to the vinegar and lime marinade and let them soak for at least 15 minutes, longer if it's convenient.

Step 3

In a small bowl, stir together the remaining lime juice, soy sauce, fish sauce, sesame oil, canola oil, 1/3 cup sugar and 1/3 cup water. This is the sandwich sauce.

Step 4

To assemble sandwiches, sprinkle a little of the sandwich sauce onto each half of the French loaves. Place the roasted mushrooms onto the bottom half of each roll and sprinkle with a little more sauce. Top with a few slices of jalapeno, a few sticks of carrot and radish (minus the marinade), cucumber, basil and cilantro. Close with the tops of the bread and serve.