There are sandwiches, and then there are sandwiches. The old-school sandwich is eaten at lunch and has a single-minded filling, bar a small leeway for a garnish: think egg and cress. The new school, however, is a multi-textured, multi-cultured, multi-flavoured wonderland that can be eaten at any time of the day and, among them, bánh mì is queen. In Vietnam, there is no single recipe for bánh mì, because it’s fully customisable, but in general you can expect the main ingredient – traditionally pork, but here miso- and peanut-coated tofu – a spread and a wildly colourful array of pickled vegetables and herbs, all packed into a crusty baguette.
Peanut and miso tofu bánh mì
Prep 10 min
Cook 30 min
Serves 4
2 medium carrots (about 250g), peeled
7 tbsp apple cider vinegar
3 tbsp agave syrup, plus 1½ tsp extra for the carrots
50g salted roasted peanuts
1oog white miso paste
6 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
3 tbsp dark soy sauce
560g extra-firm tofu (ie 2 x standard 280g packs), drained and pressed dry – I like Tofoo
5 tbsp cornflour
4 tbsp toasted sesame oil
To serve
4 small baguettes
8 tbsp vegan mayonnaise
20g fresh mint, leaves picked
30g fresh coriander, leaves picked
1 large red chilli, thinly sliced
Shave the carrots into thin strips – I use a vegetable peeler – and put them in a shallow lipped bowl. Pour in two tablespoons of the vinegar and the teaspoon and a half of agave syrup, then mix to coat. Bash the peanuts to a dusty rubble in a mortar.
In a large bowl, whisk the remaining five tablespoons of vinegar with the remaining three tablespoons of agave syrup, then add the miso, garlic and dark soy.
Cut each block of tofu in half, then cut each half into four 2½cm-wide x 6cm-long strips. Tip four tablespoons of the cornflour into a second shallow lipped bowl, then toss each piece of tofu in the cornflour, shake off the excess and put on a plate.
Heat the sesame oil in a wide, nonstick frying pan and, when it’s very hot, fry the tofu, in batches if need be, for four minutes on each side, until golden brown all over. Carefully pour any oil from the pan into a heatproof bowl (discard it once cool), leaving the fried tofu in the pan. Turn the heat right down, tip in the marinade and cook, stirring, for up to four minutes, until the sauce is sticky, glossy and reduced, then take off the heat.
Warm the baguettes, if you wish, then cut them in half lengthways. Slather generously with mayonnaise, stuff with the fried sliced tofu and top with the carrot strips, mint and coriander. Scatter over some of the peanut rubble and sliced chilli, pop the other baguette half on top and eat straight away.
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