The funny thing about banh mi is it has become so ingrained into modern foodie vocabulary that most people don’t realize that the literal Vietnamese translation just means “bread” or “sandwich.” While certain fixins’ are almost always a staple, such cilantro and pickled veggies, you can actually make banh mi with almost any meat. Restaurant banh mi will typically feature Vietnamese pork roll, aka chả lụa, (also referred to as “the best mystery meat I’ve ever had” by my dear friend Mike), or Chinese BBQ pork as the main meat. Realistically, growing up, my family would make banh mi as a means to use up leftover meat and veggies. My personal favorite meat of choice is a sweet and spicy pork patty, seasoned with fish sauce, lemongrass, ginger and onions, featured in this recipe. Feel free to experiment with different proteins and veggies as well, but whatever you do, DO NOT forget the pâté – it’s the best part!
Banh Mi Tacos
Ingredients
For the pork patties
- 1 lb ground pork
- 5 cayenne peppers thinly sliced
- 1/2 cup onions finely chopped
- 1/2 cup lemongrass finely chopped
- 1/4 cup ginger grated
- 2 tbsp fish sauce
- 1 1/2 tbsp sugar
- 1 tbsp ground black pepper
- 2 tsp salt
For the tacos
- 12 flour tortillas 6 inch
- 1 lb liverwurst or 2 cups pâté spread
- pickled carrots thinly sliced
- cucumbers sliced
- jalapeno peppers sliced
- cilantro stems removed
- lime for garnish
Instructions
- In a bowl, mix together ground pork, onions, cayenne peppers, lemongrass, ginger, fish sauce, sugar, salt and pepper. Use your hands to roll into balls and flatten out into patties of about 1/2 inch thickness.
- Grill or pan fry patties for 10 minutes on each side until meat becomes burnt and sticky. Slice into strips to place into tacos.
- To assemble tacos, spread pâté generously over tortillas. Add pork patty strips, carrots, cucumbers, jalapenos, and cilantro. Garnish with lime.
