Turkey on wheat? PASS

The Food: Banh Mi I first discovered this Vietnamese sandwich at East West Sandwiches in Westwood (now closed). If your sick of the same ol turkey and mustard sub, you should definitely try a Banh Mi. It’s a baguette filled with asian marinated pork, pickled vegetables such as carrots and cucumbers, lettuce, cilantro, mayonnaise and chilies. East West Sandwiches used to have a variety of Asian influenced sandwiches such as the Korean sandwich filled with bulgogi (thinly sliced beef marinated in soy sauce, sesame oil, and a few other ingredients) and kimchi (spicy fermented cabbage-a Korean staple). So next time your mom asks if you’d like a peanut butter & jelly sandwich for lunch, just yell “TOI MUON MOT BANH MI!!!” She’ll understand.

The Recipe: Banh Mi

Marinated carrots and cucumbers
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup distilled white vinegar
1/4 tspn salt
3 cups of matchstick-size pieces peeled carrots (or you can get all fancy with a mandoline slicer)
1 English hothouse cucumber, cut into 6 inch long 1/4 inch thick slices (once again a mandoline can be called to action)

Meat
1/4 cup soy sauce
4 shallots, chopped
6 garlic cloves, minced
2 tbspns fish sauce*
2 tbspns oyster sauce*
1 tbspn sugar
2 tspns of five spice powder (coriander, tumaric, cumin, galanggal, lemon grass, cardamon)
2 whole star anise ground (about 1/4 tspn)
6 large boneless chicken things or a comparable amt of pork loin.
*To ask your local vietnamese grocer for
fish sauce say: “O DAU LA NUOC MAM (pronounced nook mahm)!!!”
oyster sauce say: “O DAU LA DAU HAO (pronounced zau hao)!!!!!”
6 french baguettes split lengthwise

Additional Fillings:
MAYO
1/2 red onion thinly sliced crosswise
cilantro (if you dont like cilantro, you can’t leave it out. my rules)
Jalapeno chilies thinly sliced
Soy Sauce for additional dousage

For marinated carrots and cucumbers:Whisk white vinegar, sugar and salt in a bowl until dissolved. Add carrots and cucumbers and toss to coat. Let it stand in room temp for about 2 hours. You can prepare this about 5 days ahead. Cover & Chill). Drain well once ready to use. For meat:Mix first 8 ingredients of meat marinade in a 13×9x2 baking dish. Add meat and turn to coat. Let it marinate at room temp for about an hour, turning every 20 minutes or so to ensure proper marinatin’Prep your grill, bbq, broiler, or George Foreman. Brush your heat machine with oil. Make sure it’s nice and hot. Place meat on heating device and cook all the way through, about 6 minutes per side.

To construct your azn creation:Grill cut sides of bread until lightly toasted. (If it seems like your ingredients won’t fit into the baguette, feel free to remove some of the soft centers and eat it all as you wait for your guests). Spread sufficient mayonnaise on both sides of baguette. Top with pickled vegetables, your choice of meat, onion slices, jalapenos, cilantro and a bit of lettuce if you’d prefer. Take a knife and press down the ingredients as you carefully bring down the other half of the baguette (I know! Like at Subway!). Serve immediately.Phew! I served mine with a jalapeno asian coleslaw as a side.

(recipe courtesy of Epicurious.com) http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/233499

The Restaurant: KP’s Delis, Gingergrass

The most famous of the Vietnamese delis is probably KP’s Deli in Silverlake. With pretty much most of their menu dedicated to sandwiches (both American and Vietnamese) , you can bet they’re pretty good at it.

(photo courtesy of KP Deli)

KP’s Deli
2616 Hyperion Ave, Suite B
Los Angeles, CA 90027
Ph: 323-913-1818
Monday - Friday 11AM - 7PM
Saturday 11AM - 5PM
Sunday Closed
FREE WIRELESS!
www.kpsdeli.com
Gingergrass
http://www.gingergrass.comAlso in Silverlake, they serve “fresh Vietnamese cuisine”. Dishes are pretty healthy and it’s prices are moderate. My friend Mark and I split the Banana Leaf Fish and Banh Mi. The sandwich was good, as expected. We expected the fish to be amazing, but it was decent; lacking in flavor. (speaking of Lindsey made us an AWESOME fish in a bag with chipotle butter that I have to give a shot out to. I’ll have to post that recipe at a later date.) If you’re looking for healthy asian food, here’s the place to go.
GingerGrass
2396 Glendale Boulevard
Silver Lake, CA 90039
(323) 644-1600
www.gingergrass.com