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Char Siu Banh Mi
BBQ Pork Banh Mi
Seriously one of my favorite sandwich’s ever. There are many variations of this sandwich. All will be on a French baguette with mayo, liver spread, cucumber, pickled carrots and daikon, jalapeños, cilantro, and sriracha. The protein is up to you. I made some char siu(recipe posted below) because bbq pork is my absolute favorite. You can make these with canned luncheon loaf, chicken, meatballs, or an extra thick layer of pate. Make sure to use a baguette that is crusty on the outside but soft on the inside. I like to buy my baguettes from Trung Nam Vietnamese/French bakery in Saint Paul. None better.
Ingredients
- char siu bbq pork
- liver spread
- mayonnaise
- sriracha
- cucumber long thin slices
- cilantro sprigs
- pickled carrot and daikon
- fresh jalapeños
- baguettes
Instructions
- Spread mayonnaise on the top side of the baguette. Spread liver spread on the bottom side of the baguette. Put a generous layer of bbq pork on top of the liver spread. Top the pork with cucumber, jalapeños, pickled carrots and daikon, and a couple of sprigs of cilantro. Squirt some sriracha across the top of the mayo side.
- Enjoy this sandwich. Try not to eat 3 at once.
Char Siu (Chinese BBQ Pork)
If I was put on death row and asked what the last thing on Earth that I'd like to eat, my final meal, char siu would be on the top of the list. I have loved this bbq pork ever since I was a little kid. My family would order everything with bbq pork in it from the Chinese restaurant that we got take out from. I love this pork so much, I snuck some of the pork in the picture into the movie theatre in a ziplock bag.Char siu is typically made out of pork shoulder. It can be made out of pork sirloin, pork loin, or tenderloin; but they tend to be less juicy than pork shoulder. Fat is a good thing here. You will want a 3lbs. piece of boneless pork shoulder. I purchased a whole bone in shoulder and processed out the coppa roast and the flat iron, If the coppa roast was a beef cut, you'd know it as a chuck eye roast. You don't have to go to this extreme. You can use any part of the shoulder. I just happen to know how to cut these muscles out of the shoulder and use them. Cut the pork shoulder into 2" in diameter chunks with the grain. The char siu gets its color from the red bean curd. If you've ever seen this pork really red, the color will be coming from red food coloring. But I want to avoid food coloring as much as possible. The red color in the bean curd comes from a natural fungus. This pork needs to marinate for at least 3 days.When ready to cook the pork, preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Yes, 400 degrees. Normally when you think of cooking pork shoulder, you cook it low and slow. Not here. It will be tender. Trust me. I was skeptical the first time I tried making this. Roast this for 15 minutes. Pull it out of the oven and brush on the glaze. Roast for 7 minutes. You want to do this for 3 times total. The honey will caramelize the outside while the bean curd juice will give it a nice red color. Once done roasting, let sit for 10-15 minutes before slicing.
Ingredients
- 3 lbs boneless pork shoulder
- 3 tbsp soy sauce
- 3 tbsp hoisin sauce
- 3 red bean curd cubes + 2 tbsp liquid
- 1 1/2 tbsp Chinese 5 spice powder
- 3 tbsp honey
- 3 tbsp Chinese cooking wine
- 3/4 tsp white pepper
- 1 1/2 tsp sesame oil
- 3 garlic cloves minced
Pork Glaze
- 3 tbsp honey
- 1 tbsp red bean curd liquid
- 1 tbsp cooked marinade
Instructions
- Take a 3lb. piece of pork shoulder and cut it into a few long chunks with the grain. Each piece should be around 2″ in diameter. In this picture, I cut out the coppa roast and the flat iron. The coppa roast is the center muscle of the shoulder. If this was beef, you’d know it as a chuck eye roast.
- Mix together the soy sauce, hoisin sauce, red bean curd cubes and liquid, 5 spice powder, honey, cooking, wine, white pepper, sesame, oil, and garlic cloves. Mash the bean curds into a paste. Mix everything thoroughly.
- Add the pork shoulder pieces and the marinade to a gallon sized ziplock bag. Marinate for 72 hours. Turn the bag over every 12 hours.
- Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Lay the pork shoulder pieces on a rack onto of a foil covered baking sheet. Add a couple cups of water to the baking sheet to prevent smoking. Roast the pork for 15 minutes.
- While the pork is roasting, mix together honey, red bean curd liquid, and some of the marinade. Make sure to cook the marinade in the microwave for a few seconds before mixing in. Now you have your pork glaze.
- After the first 15 minutes of roasting, take the pork out of the oven and brush on the pork glaze. Don’t worry about getting the bottom. Put the pork back in the oven and roast for 7 minutes. Repeat this step 2 more times, for a total of 3 glazes.
- After the final glazing and roasting, let the pork rest for 10-15 minutes before slicing.
Pickled Carrots and Daikon
These pickled carrots and daikon are used as a topping for banh mi sandwiches. Sweet and vinegary with a nice crunch. These are good in your refrigerator for up to a month.
Ingredients
- 6 oz carrots cut into large matchstick sized pieces
- 6 oz daikon cut into large matchstick sized pieces
- 2 tsp sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 cup water
- 1 cup white vinegar
- 6 tbsp sugar
- 1/2 tsp salt
Instructions
- Cut your carrots and daikon into large matchstick sized pieces.
- Place them in a bowl with 2 tsp of sugar and 1 tsp salt. Let sit for 5 minutes. Liquid will start to pool at the bottom. Rinse in cold water and pat dry.
- Mix together the water, vinegar, salt, and sugar until dissolved.
- Place the carrots and Daikon in a mason jar. Pour in the brine. Let pickle for a day before use.
Gizdodo
Gizdodo
Gizdodo is a popular Nigerian dish consisting of stewed chicken gizzards and plantains in a spicy tomato and pepper sauce. The gizzards are first boiled for 40 minutes; then fried along with the plantains, before being stewed in the sauce. You can also use turkey gizzards for this recipe. They need to boil for at least an hour before frying.
Servings: 4
Ingredients
- 1 lb chicken gizzards
- 1/4 medium onion
- 1 tsp curry powder
- 1 tsp thyme
- 1 tbsp chicken bullion
- 2 large plantains cubed
- 2 tsp creole seasoning
- 1/4 medium onion diced
- 1 red bell pepper diced
- 4 green onion chopped
- 6 oz tomato paste
- chicken gizzard stock
- 1 tsp curry powder
- 1 tsp thyme
- 1 tsp cayenne pepper
- vegetable oil for frying
Instructions
- Put gizzards, 1/4 onion, 1 tsp thyme, 1 tsp curry powder, and chicken bouillon in a pot. Cover with enough water to submerge all of the ingredients completely. Bring to a boil and simmer for 40 minutes.
- Strain the gizzards in a colander, saving all of the gizzard stock in a bowl below.
- Wash out and dry the same pot. Add about 1/2 cup of cooking oil the the pot over medium high heat. Fry the plantains in 2 batches until golden brown; about 6 minutes a batch.
- Place plantains in a bowl and season with the creole seasoning.
- Fry the gizzards for 5 minutes. Remove gizzards from the oil and place in the bowl with the plantains.
- Heat up 3 tbsp of cooking oil in a large saucepan over medium high heat. Sauté the onions, bell pepper, and green onions for 5 minutes.
- Add in the tomato paste, all of the gizzard stock, thyme, curry powder, and cayenne. Simmer for 5 minutes.
- Stir in the gizzards and plantains. Simmer for 5 more minutes over medium heat.
- Serve as is or with a side of rice.
Lemongrass Shrimp
Lemongrass Shrimp
When making this recipe, be aware of the size of the shrimp that you are going to use. I used smaller shrimp that are 31/40 ct. These only take 4 minutes to cook. If you want to use larger ones like 16/20 ct, they will take twice as long to cook. Serve these shrimps with garlic noodles.
Ingredients
- 1 lb raw shrimp peeled and deveined
- 2 tbsp butter
- 3 tbsp lemongrass finely chopped
- 4 garlic cloves minced
- 1/4 cup shallots finely diced
Sauce
- 1 tbsp honey
- 1 tbsp fish sauce
- 1/2 tsp cracked black pepper
- 4 thai chilies finely chopped
Instructions
- Mix all of the sauce ingredients together. Set aside.
- Melt butter in a large sauté pan over medium high heat. Add in the lemongrass, shallots, and garlic. Cook for 4 minutes.
- Add in the shrimp. Give them a quick a quick toss in the lemongrass mix. Arrange them in a single layer. Cook for 2 minutes.
- Stir in the sauce. Flip the shrimp to the other side and cook for 2 more minutes.
- Yes, this really only takes 10 minutes to make.
- Serve with garlic noodles.
