Seared Pork Banh Mi

Step 1

You can buy pickled daikon and carrots or make it yourself. If you make it, you'll want to do this the day before or early in the morning the day of making the sandwiches. It tastes best chilled.

Step 2

To make, boil water with sugar and vinegar. Let boil for 3 minutes to dissolve sugar, then remove from heat.

Step 3

Place sliced veggies into a large mason jar. Once boiled mixture has cooled slightly, pour over veggies in jar. Then close lid tightly and place in fridge for 6-8 hours, or longer.

Step 4

Whisk mayo ingredients together and place in fridge before you make sandwiches. Mayo will taste best when chilled. Adjust levels of sriracha according to how spicy you like it. I think it tastes best with a bit of spice!

Step 5

Leave in fridge until you're ready to assemble sandwiches.

Step 6

Before prepping meat, mix marinade ingredients. Mix all marinade ingredients except vegetable/canola oil. Set aside.

Step 7

Start slicing pork roast. Be sure to use a serrated knife so you can get it pretty thin. You want it about 1/4 inch thick. (Not so thin it's falling apart, but not so thick that it will get tough when it cooks.) The pieces will cook down a bit, so make them a little longer and wider than you'd want on a sandwich.

Step 8

Place sliced pork into a heavy duty ziploc bag. Pour marinade on top. Place in fridge for 4-6 hours.

Step 9

Once meat has marinated, remove from fridge. Set out a large pot (I used an enameled dutch oven) and pour about 3 tbsp. of vegetable or canola oil on bottom of pan (enough to cover the bottom about 1/4 inch, depending on your size of pot).

Step 10

Turn heat up to medium high to heat oil. Meanwhile, lay out a large baking sheet lined with paper towels. This will be a great place to set your meat after each batch has cooked in the oil.

Step 11

Once oil has heated, remove pieces of pork one-by-one with tongs from ziploc bag and slowly place into oil (you want oil to sizzle when you place meat in, but if it pops too much, turn heat slightly down).

Step 12

Flip meat over to cook both sides evenly. Once edges start to brown, remove from pot with tongs and set on paper towel lined baking sheet.

Step 13

Sear meat in batches until it's all cooked. Let rest on baking sheet while you assemble the other sandwich ingredients.

Step 14

Start assembly by slicing baguettes or french rolls. Spread mayo on bottom side of roll.

Step 15

Place several slices of meat over mayo, then layer with a handful of pickled veggies, fresh cucumbers, and fresh cilantro. Then, savor every bite!