Vietnamese Lemongrass Pork Banh Mi with Pickled Daikon, Cucumber and Sriracha Mayo

Ingredients

• For the lemongrass pork:
• 1 lb ground pork (or thinly sliced pork shoulder)
• 3 stalks lemongrass, white part only, very finely minced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tbsp fish sauce
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
• 1 tbsp neutral oil for cooking
• For quick-pickled vegetables:
• 1 cup daikon radish, cut into thin matchsticks
• 1 cup carrots, cut into thin matchsticks
• 1/2 cup rice vinegar
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• For sriracha mayo:
• 3 tbsp mayonnaise
• 1-2 tsp sriracha sauce
• 1/2 tsp lime juice
• For assembling:
• 4 Vietnamese baguettes (or light French baguette sections)
• 1 cucumber, thinly sliced on the diagonal
• Fresh cilantro sprigs
• Fresh jalapeño, thinly sliced

Instructions

1. Make the pickled vegetables first: combine rice vinegar, sugar, and salt, stirring until dissolved. Pour over the daikon and carrot matchsticks in a bowl. Press down to submerge. Let pickle at least 30 minutes at room temperature — the longer, the better. They keep refrigerated for 1 week.
2. Mix the lemongrass pork: combine ground pork, minced lemongrass, garlic, fish sauce, soy sauce, sugar, and black pepper. Mix thoroughly. The lemongrass must be minced as finely as possible — any fibrous chunks will be unpleasant to eat.
3. Make the sriracha mayo: whisk together mayonnaise, sriracha, and lime juice. Taste and adjust heat. Set aside.
4. Cook the pork: heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the pork mixture, breaking it up with a spatula. Cook 6-8 minutes until cooked through and lightly caramelized at the edges. The fish sauce caramelizes beautifully and creates deep savory notes. Taste and adjust seasoning.
5. Split the baguettes lengthwise without cutting all the way through. Lightly toast cut-side down in a dry pan or under the broiler until golden and crisp. Vietnamese banh mi bread should be shattery-crisp outside and featherlight inside.
6. Spread sriracha mayo generously on both cut sides of each baguette.
7. Layer in this order: cucumber slices, hot lemongrass pork, a generous tangle of pickled daikon and carrot, fresh cilantro, and jalapeño slices.
8. Press gently to close and serve immediately. The interplay of hot pork, cool pickles, crunchy bread, and fresh herbs is the genius of banh mi — Vietnamese street food at its finest.