Meatball Bánh Mi

We are trying to make a real effort to eat some of the things that have been lingering in our freezer. We discovered quite a few items in the bottom of our chest freezer when we ungraded to an upright freezer last week including some Asian meatballs & garlic scape pesto which led to this sandwich.

In the last year, I've really discovered the yumminess that is the bánh mi. There is just something about the mix of flavors & textures that just works. For me a bánh mi has to have a protein, something pickled, something crunchy, something spicy & something creamy all on a crispy baguette.

For our protein we used some leftover Asian Meatballs. When we originally made these we cooked them all & then froze half. To use them on this sandwich they just required thawing & a quick reheat in the microwave.

For something pickled & something hot we had some pickled jalapenos we canned this summer & quick carrot pickles I made in the morning.

Quick Carrot Pickles
(adapted from Emeril at the Grill)

1/2 c rice vinegar
1 1/2 T sugar
1/4 t crush red pepper flakes
1/4 t salt
1 carrot, sliced thin diagonally

Put the vinegar, sugar, pepper & salt in a microwave safe bowl. Microwave for one minute. Stir until the sugar & salt are dissolved. Cool. Add the carrots. Cover & refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. The longer they sit they more pickled they will be.

Makes about 1/2 cup

The carrots are also the crisp in the this sandwich along with fresh cilantro.

For the creamy element, Matt took a little garlic scape pesto we had frozen & mixed it with some mayo. It also made a good dipping sauce for the few meatballs that wouldn't fit in our sandwiches.

We didn't use baguettes for these. I had tested a hamburger bun recipe for a friend this weekend & made a few hotdog bun shaped to use for this. They were a little soft for bánh mi though tasty.

Not as good as the bánh mi we get at the Vietnamese places down on Nicollet but certainly a decent home version. Do you have a favorite bánh mi combination?

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