Name: Weeknight Banh Mi Sandwich
Prep time: 8 min
Cook time: 12 min
Total time: 20 min
Yield: 4 sandwiches, plus extra pickles and sauce
Cuisine: Vietnamese
Ingredients: [Pickled carrot and daikon] 150g daikon, shredded; [Pickled carrot and daikon] 150g carrot, shredded; [Pickled carrot and daikon] 200g water; [Pickled carrot and daikon] 100g rice vinegar; [Pickled carrot and daikon] 100g white vinegar; [Pickled carrot and daikon] 40g sugar; [Pickled carrot and daikon] 4g salt; [Pork meatballs] 900g ground pork; [Pork meatballs] 10g salt; [Pork meatballs] 25g sugar; [Pork meatballs] 5g black pepper; [Pork meatballs] 10g cornflour; [Pork meatballs] 60g fish sauce; [Pork meatballs] 30g garlic, grated or minced; [Pork meatballs] 30g fresh ginger, grated; [Pork meatballs] 60g shallot, finely minced; [Pork meatballs] 20g basil, minced; [Nuoc cham] 120g water; [Nuoc cham] 45g fish sauce; [Nuoc cham] 25g sugar; [Nuoc cham] Juice of 1 lime, about 25g; [Nuoc cham] 10g garlic, minced; [Nuoc cham] 10g sambal; [Assembly] 1 English cucumber, cut into thin planks; [Assembly] 1 jalapeño, thinly sliced; [Assembly] Fresh coriander, roughly chopped; [Assembly] 4 baguettes or hoagie rolls; [Assembly] Mayonnaise

Method

8 steps

[Pickles] Bring the water, both vinegars, sugar and salt to a boil. Add the shredded daikon and carrot, submerge them, remove from the heat and cool.
[Meatballs] Heat the oven to 245°C/475°F. Mix all meatball ingredients thoroughly.
[Meatballs] Form roughly 55g/2oz balls and arrange at least 2.5cm apart on a parchment-lined tray.
[Meatballs] Bake for 12–15 minutes, until the centres reach at least 74°C/165°F.
[Nuoc cham] Stir all sauce ingredients together until the sugar dissolves.
[Assembly] Warm the baguettes in the hot oven for about 2 minutes, until crisp outside.
[Assembly] Split each baguette without cutting through the hinge. Spread mayonnaise inside.
[Assembly] Add halved meatballs, drained carrot-daikon pickle, cucumber, jalapeño and coriander. Finish with nuoc cham.