Tofu Banh Mi
Crispy lemongrass tofu, quick pickled daikon and carrot, cilantro and chili mayo in a toasted baguette.
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Press the tofu hard before marinating. The more water you squeeze out, the more marinade gets absorbed and the deeper the caramelization. Wet tofu is pale tofu.
Ingredients
Everything below makes 4 sandwiches.
- 20 ozextra-firm tofupressed, sliced into 1/2-inch slabs
- 4Vietnamese baguette (or French sub roll)
- 2lemongrass stalkstender white part minced
- 4garlic clovesminced
- 1 mediumshallotminced
- 3 tbspsoy sauce
- 1½ tbsplight brown sugar
- 3 tbspneutral oil
- ½ lbdaikon radishjulienned
- 2 mediumcarrotsjulienned
- ½ cuprice vinegar
- 3 tbspgranulated sugar
- ⅓ cupvegan mayo
- 1 tbspsriracha
- 1 mediumcucumbersliced into long strips
- 1 bunchfresh cilantroleaves and tender stems
- 1jalapeñothinly sliced
- 1limejuiced
- 1 tspkosher salt
In the app these rescale to however many people you're feeding.
Nutrition
Per sandwich, as written.
- 480calories
- 22gprotein
- 62gcarbs
- 16gfat
Swaps move these. Chicken instead of tofu, or a rice bowl instead of the baguette, both change the numbers.
Instructions
Knife work first, then the stove. Nothing below asks you to chop while something burns.
- Press tofu between paper towels under a weight 10 min; slice into 1/2-inch slabs.
- Julienne daikon and carrots into matchsticks.
- Mince lemongrass (tender white part), garlic, shallot. Slice cucumber, jalapeño. Pick cilantro.
Quick-pickle
Whisk rice vinegar, granulated sugar, salt, and 1/2 cup water in a bowl until sugar dissolves. Add daikon and carrots, press to submerge. Set aside 20 min.
20 min · hands offMarinate tofu
In a flat dish, whisk lemongrass, garlic, shallot, soy sauce, brown sugar, lime juice, and oil. Add tofu slabs and turn to coat. Marinate 15 min.
15 min · hands offSear tofu
Heat remaining oil in skillet over medium-high. Sear tofu slabs 3-4 min per side until deeply golden and caramelized - the marinade should crust on. Pull off heat.
8 min · hands onMake chili-mayo
Whisk vegan mayo with sriracha. Taste and adjust heat.
1 min · hands onToast and build
Slice baguettes lengthwise without cutting through. Toast 2 min in the still-hot skillet, cut-side down. Spread chili-mayo on both sides. Layer tofu slabs, drained pickles, cucumber, jalapeño, cilantro. Press closed.
5 min · hands onMake it yours
Every swap here is one Maui already knows how to make, including what it does to the timing.
Steam 5 minutes first, then marinate and sear. Adds about 5 minutes.
Slice thin, marinate the same way, sear 4 minutes per side. Not vegan any more, still halal.
Filling, pickles and mayo in a bowl. Adds about 20 minutes for the rice.
Large lettuce wraps work too. Check the tamari label, some have wheat in them.
What keeps
The tofu, pickles and mayo all keep 4 days in the fridge, stored separately. That's the whole reason this works as a make-ahead lunch.
Assemble the sandwiches the day you eat them. Baguettes go soggy fast, so toast the bread fresh each time.
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