RECIPES OF VIETNAM

Bahn Mi Thit (Vietnamese Pork Sandwich)

Ingredients :

1 tsp

1 tbsp

1/4 cup

1 clove

12 oz

3 tbsp

11/2 tsp

2 tbsp

12 oz

2 cups

3 cups

1/2 cup

1/2 cup

3

Five-spice powder

Vegetable oil

Shallots (chopped)

Garlic (minced)

Ground lean pork

Soy sauce

Sugar

Red chili paste (or red chili sauce)

Pork tenderloins (cooked and thinly sliced)

English cucumber (thinly sliced)

Mesclun

Fresh Thai basil

Fried shallots (optional)

French baguettes (8 oz each) (use light baguette with soft interior and thin crisp crust)

1. In an 8-10 inch saute pan over medium to high heat, stir five spice until fragrant, about 30 seconds

2. Stir in oil, shallots and garlic

3. Add ground pork and stir often until meat is crumbly and no longer pink

4. Add soy sauce, sugar and salt and pepper to taste and set aside

5. Cut baguettes in half crosswise then split almost all the way through, leaving halves attached on one side

6. Spread 1 tsp of chile paste on one cut side of each baguette section

7. Spoon 1/6 of the warm ground pork mixture (including juices) over the chile paste

8. Tuck 1/6 of the pork tenderloin slices evenly into each sandwich

9. Place sandwiches on a sheet pan and bake at 375 degrees F for about 5 minutes or until filling is warm and crust is crisp

10. Remove from oven and fill each with 1/6 of the cucumbers, mesclun, basil and fried shallots