Vietnamese “bahn mi” baguette

Vietnamese “bahn mi” baguette

If you are not familiar with Vietnamese food then I highly recommend you give it a go. It can be more light and herbal than other South East Asian countries but just as tasty.I have amazing memories of travelling across Vietnam. One of my favourite memories was cycling through the city of Hoi An. It is a beautiful city and is a bit more chilled compared to other cities in Vietnam.

Bahn mi is a crisp, light baguette packed full of tasty fillings that provide a mixture of flavour and texture. The baguettes are a remnant of the French colonial days and for me are the best baguettes around. To replicate that I have used a bake at home baguette, to give a fresh, crisp crust and filled it with an easy to make mushroom/tofu pate and hoisin bbq tempeh. This recipe may sound complex but it is fairly easy to pull together and worth it! If you can get your hands on Thai basil it adds another layer of flavour in this baguette that bursts with flavours and textures.

Serves 2

INGREDIENTS

For the pâté 

• 50g shallot

• 1 garlic clove finely chopped

• 200 grams mushrooms finely sliced

• 140 grams of firm tofu crumbled

• 1 tablespoon of soy sauce

• Pinch of Chinese five spice

To assemble

• 1 or 2 bake at home baguettes/ciabatta - depending on how big a portion you want

• 1 small carrot finely sliced on the diagonal 

• 1/4 cucumber shaved with a vegetable peeler (avoid the wet middle part)

• 1 spring onion finely sliced on the diagonal

• Handful of bean sprouts

• Handful of a mixture of coriander, mint and Thai basil - leaves kept whole

• Hoisin and chilli sauce to finish

For the tempeh

• 100 grams tempeh cut in 5mm rectangles

• 1 tablespoon hoisin sauce

• 1 tablespoon soy sauce

• 1 tablespoon of liquid smoke (optional)

For the dipping sauce

• 4 tablespoons of soy sauce

• 1 tablespoon of cider vinegar

• 1 dessertspoon of your preferred sugar (I use coconut sugar) 

• 1 small garlic clove finely sliced 

• 1 red chilli finely sliced

METHOD

1. Start by marinating the tempeh with the hoisin, soy sauce and liquid smoke. If you are able to steam the tempeh for 10 minutes before marinating you will get a more tender and juicy flavour. If not it will still taste great. Leave to marinate in the fridge for at least one hour.

2. To make the pate, heat a little olive oil in a large frying pan over a medium heat. Add the shallot and cook until it is starting to colour. Add the garlic, stir and cook for one minute before adding the sliced mushrooms. Season with salt and cook until the mushrooms are starting to go golden. Add the crumbled tofu, soy sauce and five spice and cook for a couple of minutes. Transfer to a blender or food process and blend until smooth (adding a few splashes of water if required).

3. Combine all the ingredients for the dipping sauce and set aside.

4. Bake the baguettes/ciabatta as directed on the packaging. Add the marinated tempeh to a lined baking tray in the oven and cook at the same time. While the baguette and tempeh are cooking, prepare the rest of the baguette filling, cooking the beansprouts briefly is prefered. When the baguette is cooked, set aside for a few minutes.

5. While the baguette is still warm, cut open and add the mushroom pate to both open sides, now add the tempeh, vegetables, beansprouts, herbs and finish off with your preferred hoisin, chilli and the dipping sauce.