Pork Banh Mi

A Banh Mi is my go to easy, comfort food after a long day. It is easy to make, quick to snack on and packed full of flavour. This is also one of my favourites to make on a hot summer’s evening. They say that something really spicy is meant to be the best thing to eat when the weather gets hot – and this recipe sure is hot! Something you are not often going to get in Berlin unless you do it yourself…

I am always disappointed when eating a Banh Mi out and about in Berlin. Places such as Babanbè and CoCo Banh Mi offer a good selection with the baguettes filled with plenty of fresh meat, salad and pickles that are worth visiting for alone. But there is just no heat to them – even when you have requested the hot chilli sauce. Does the German aversion to all things scharf really mean that the rest of us can’t have just a little bit of fire to what is meant to be a spicy dish? But fear not, this recipe is zingy, tasty, spicy and all from the comfort of your own kitchen!

Pork Banh Mi

 

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Prep time

10 mins

Cook time

10 mins

Total time

20 mins

 

Serves: 2

Ingredients

• 2 pork fillets
• 1 onion (peeled and finely sliced)
• 1 tbpsn sesame oil
• 1 tbpsn sambal oelek
• 2 tspn rice wine vinegar
• Handful of fresh coriander
• 2 lemongrass stalks (peeled and finely chopped)
• 1 red pepper (finely sliced)
• 2 carrots (peeled and then grated)
• Half a cucumber (seeds removed and chopped into thin slices)
• 2 small chillies (seeds removed and finely chopped)
• Handful of watercress
• Ground black pepper
• Juice of 1 lime
• 2 tbspn sesame seeds
• 1 white baguette (ends removed, cut in half and then each half sliced in the middle)

Instructions

1. Heat a large frying with the sesame oil. Flatten the pork using a meat hammer/ rolling pin and then roughly slice the pork into thin strips. Add the pork to the pan with the onions, pinch of salt and the red chillies. Cook on a medium heat for around 10 minutes.
2. Add the carrots, peppers, cucumber, coriander, lemongrass, watercress, lime juice, rice wine vinegar and black pepper to a large mixing bowl. Stir in the sesame seeds and then add the onions and pork once cooked. Mix everything together.

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