Recipes | Sandwich | Snacks | Vietnamese

Vietnamese Sandwich Banh Mi with Peri Peri Paneer

cs.ankit11@gmail.comNovember 24, 2020

Banh Mi is an incredibly flavorful and colorful Vietnamese classic sandwich which typically includes bright and crunchy home made pickled vegetables stuffed into a fluffy baguette with some protein, mayo, chillies and fresh coriander! The protein is traditionally meat, however, the vegetarian version can be made with tofu or as we are going to use today…paneer marinated with peri peri seasoning! You can make paneer tikka  instead of peri peri paneer , it will still taste awesome!!

Banh Mi translates to ‘Bread’ in Vietnamese, it refers to the baguette used in making this sandwich. For best Banh Mi, use crusty baguettes which are crusty from outside and soft from inside. You can buy french style baguettes from supermarkets! I used part baked baguettes from our local supermarket which I just need to put in a preheated oven for 10 minutes and they are nicely brown and crispy!

The Banh Mi is very simple to make, but it will need some preparation..you need to pickle the vegetables overnight for best results and marinate the paneer! The vegetables used are carrots, cucumber and Indian radish (mooli, also known as daikon)which are julienned  and then pickled in vinegar. If you can’t find Indian radish, just swap them with red radish which I used in the sandwich, easily available in supermarkets!  Paneer needs to cut in approx  2cm thickness and 6-7 cm length rectangular slabs and then marinated in peri peri seasoning.

Then , all thats left is to prepare a quick spicy mayo which we will made with mixing mayo with any garlic chilli sauce..easy peasy !!

Few tips:

• Make the pickles ahead of time! The pickled vegetables taste good even after 1 hour but the taste keep getting better with time . That way it takes about 20 minutes to whip up the sandwich on a weekday  if you have pickled veggies ready in fridge! The veggies keep well for about 2 weeks!
• Store the left over pickled vegetables in fridge and pile them high on more sandwiches, burgers or make salads!

”If you try this recipe I would love to hear from you! I would appreciate if you could leave a review or a comment below !! Please feel free to share your feedback and suggestions as well! Thank you so much.”

Cuisine: Vietnamese  Course: Main/Snack     Servings: 2

Ingredients:

For pickled vegetables:

• Rice Vinegar: 1/2 cup
• Warm water: 1/2 cup
• Sugar/Sweetener: 1 tbsp
• Salt: 2 tsp
• Carrot: 1 medium sized,  peeled and cut into thin sticks or julienned
• Daikon/Mooli: 1/2 medium sized, peeled and cut into thin sticks OR Red Radish: 9-10, cut into thin rounds (unpeeled )
• English Cucumber: 1/2 , sliced thinly

For Peri Peri Paneer:

• Paneer: 200 grams
• Peri Peri seasoning: 1/4 cup
• Any flavorless oil like sunflower oil: 2 tbsp + 2 tbsp to shallow fry
• Lime Juice: 1 tsp
• Salt: to taste

To Serve:

• Fresh Baguette: 2
• Mayonnaise: 1/2 cup
• Garlic chilli sauce/ Sriracha : 2 tsp
• Pickled Jalapenos: 1/4 cup
• Spring Onions: 3-4, green part only, thinly sliced
• Fresh Coriander: a handful
• Lettuce: Shredded, 1/4 cup

Method:

For Pickled vegetables:

• Combine the rice vinegar, warm water , salt and sugar in a bowl and stir all together until the sugar dissolves. Add the radish, cucumber and carrots to the vinegar mix. You can put the veggies in a jar and pour the vinegar mix over veggies.
• Make sure the veggies are covered with liquid , Screw the lid and let the vegetables to pickle in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour and up to 24 hours in advance.

For Peri Peri Paneer:

• Prepare the marinade by adding peri peri seasoning, 1 tsp lemon juice and 2 tbsp of oil in a medium bowl. Check for salt and adjust.
• Add paneer slabs to it and carefully apply the marinade on the pieces with your hands. Mix everything very gently. Do it carefully to not break the paneer pieces.
• Let it marinate for at least 20 minutes or overnight if possible .
• Heat 2 tbsp of oil in a pan or skillet. Add the paneer pieces carefully and let it cook on medium low heat for about 30 seconds or until golden . Flip and cook on other side. Add the paneer pieces in batches if the pan is small. Cook all the paneer in the same way.
• Take it out and keep it aside on a absorbent tissue.

To Assemble:

• Slice the baguette in half lengthwise without cutting through the entire length. Spread both sides with sriracha mayo .
• Stuff with shredded lettuce, peri peri paneer, pickled vegetables, jalapenos , coriander leaves and spring onion greens.
• You can cut the sandwich in half or serve whole , if you want.
• Serve immediately with lime wedges.
• Enjoy!!