Pork Meatball Bánh Mì (Translation: Awesome Asian Meatball Sandwich)

Ain't that a pretty Picture...

A Banh Mi is a yummy delicious sandwich that have been rising in popularity in the past few years in the U.S. I have seen them on food trucks and cooking shows on the Food Network. Banh Mi basically means Vietnamese baguette sandwiches. They usually have pickled carrots and cucumbers, cilantro and thinly sliced meat. I saw a recipe for pork meatballs on a baguette in a sort of "Banh Mi" style. I had never tried this so I figured I would go for it. The ground pork happened to be on sale at Whole Foods ( Score!!) and I had most of the condiments at home already. Toby and I found this awesome baguette at Whole Foods so this was starting off successful.

When I got home I added everything to the pork and let it marinate overnight. I had some garlic and chilli paste so I added that also. I let those awesome flavors marinate overnight with the meat and was SO excited when i got home last night to make them. I took the pork out of the fridge and let it rest to room temperature. I was afraid it was going to be too spicy because I added the chilli and garlic paste and I added sriracha so I added some Ah-So Asian sweet sauce( ps.. try this if you haven't- it is amazing.) It is red so my meatballs ended up pink. So DO NOT be alarmed by the photos. They aren't raw , just pink. 

Here is the recipe I followed. I would recommend not skipping the step of "pickling" the carrot or cucumber. It adds nice contrasting flavor. I also added cilantro to the mayonnaise and lemon juice for some bright flavor.

Meatballs:
1 lb. ground pork
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh basil or cilantro
  2garlic cloves, crushed
1-2 green onions, finely chopped
1 Tbsp. fish sauce
2 tsp. sriracha or other hot chile sauce (or to taste)
1 Tbsp. brown sugar
salt & pepper

Sandwiches:
2 cups coarsely grated carrots
1/4 cup rice vinegar
1/4 cup sugar
4 10″ individual baguettes or four chunks of baguette
mayonaise to taste
thinly sliced cucumber (use a vegetable peeler)
fresh cilantro

In a bowl, mix together the pork, basil, garlic, onions, fish sauce, sriracha, sugar and salt and pepper and mix it all up with your hands. Roll into 1″ balls and place on a rimmed baking sheet or a broiler pan ( alot of oil comes out). Bake at 400F for 20 minutes, or until golden and cooked through.

Let this baby sit overnight and let flavors meld together

Meanwhile, toss the grated carrot with the rice vinegar and sugar in a small bowl. Let sit until you’re ready to assemble your sandwiches.

To assemble, spread baguettes with mayo; top with a squirt of sriracha to taste, and stuff with pickled carrots, cucumber strips, meatballs and sprigs of fresh cilantro. Serves 4.

Yum... Asian sandwich goodness

Pretty simple and easy. Enjoy a little slice of heaven!