Banh Mi Style Pulled Pork Sandwiches - Truth: I'm basically smitten by anything that includes both bread and pulled, saucy meat.
Truth: "Banh Mi" is actually the Vietnamese term for all types of bread and baguettes but it's evolved and now refers to a meat-filled sandwich found in Vietnamese bakeries.
Truth: Vietnamese food rocks
Truth: I've taken some liberties with this recipe and don't claim this as an authentic banh mi.
Truth: It's amazing.
How to Start Your Banh Mi Style Pulled Pork Sandwiches
The meat starts off in the slow cooker where it slow-roasts for hours and gets fall-apart tender. The sauce it's cooked in is a combo of sweet chili sauce (click here to learn a little about it), lime juice, and fish sauce. Fish sauce is a key ingredient in Thai and Vietnamese cooking and doesn't actually taste as "fishy" as one would think. While I fully encourage you to give it a go, soy sauce can be substituted if you can't get past the name.
Stir up the sauce and pour over the pork in the slow-cooker. I usually like to use a pork shoulder, but this time I used a pork sirloin roast which is a good choice if you want something a bit leaner.
While the pork is cooking, let's put together a little cool, crisp, slaw. One of the main components of this slaw is daikon and if you haven't had it it's a super mild white raddish that you can find in most produce sections. Sometimes it's called Japanese raddish but you'll be able to spot it because it basically looks like a long, giant root.
Shred some daikon and carrot, throw in some fresh cilantro and toss with a dressing made of rice wine vinegar, sugar, sesame oil, and a little salt. It's okay if you get this put together a few hours before you're ready to serve because the carrots and daikon hold their crunch really well.
Now Wait
After 6-8 hours your meat should be full cooked and ready to go. Take the pork out of the slow cooker and place on a plate to easily shred. Pour the cooking liquid from the slow cooker into a separate bowl, skim the fat off the top and combine 1 cup of that liquid with another ¼ C of sweet chili sauce. Toss the shredded meat with the cooking liquid sauce and you're ready start making Banh Mi Style Pulled Pork Sandwiches!
Assembling Your Pulled Pork Sandwiches
Before starting to assemble the pulled pork sandwiches, mix a dollop of mayonnaise with a squirt of sirracha and spread each side of a toasted baguette with it. From there, pile high with the hot pork, a spoonful of the slaw, and top with a few thin slices of cucumber.
Take a bite and enjoy the crunchy, smooth, cool, and spicy-ness. Yup- it's good.
Other Sandwich Recipes You Might Like
- Italian Beef Recipe with Pepperoncini
- Garlic Bread Grilled Cheese
- Pork Tenderloin Sandwich
- Easy Pulled BBQ Chicken Sandwiches
- Sloppy Joe Sauce
- Slow Cooker BBQ Beef Sandwiches
- Easy French Dip
- Onion Soup Mix Burger
- Pork Burger
- Greek Turkey Burger Recipe
- Doritos Burgers
Banh Mi Style Pulled Pork Sandwiches
Ingredients
- 3 lb pork shoulder
- salt and pepper
- ¼ C sweet chili sauce
- ¼ fish sauce
- 1 lime juiced
- ¼ C sweet chili sauce
- 1 ½ C shredded carrots
- 1 ½ C shredded daikon
- ½ C fresh cilantro coarsely chopped
- 2 tablespoon rice vinegar
- 2 teaspoon sesame oil
- 2 teaspoon sugar
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- cucumber thinly sliced
- mayonnaise mixed with sirracha to taste
- french baguettes sliced and toasted
Instructions
- Season pork shoulder with salt and pepper and place in a slow cooker.
- Combine fish sauce, ¼ sweet chili sauce, and lime juice in a small bowl and pour over the pork. Cook on low for 6-8 hours or until the meat shreds easily. Remove meat from cooking liquid and shred.
- Pour cooking liquid into a separate container, skim off fat and combine 1 C of this skimmed liquid with the remaining ¼ of sweet chili sauce. Toss the meat with this sauce and set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl combine daikon, carrots and cilantro. Whisk together the vinegar, sesame oil, salt, and sugar and pour over the veggies. Toss to combine and set aside.
- Spread each baguette with the sirracha mayo, a few slices of cucumber, and a spoofull each of the meat and slaw.
Did you make this recipe? Drop me a comment and let me know how it turned out!