Gasp: A Vegan Bahn Mi

Banh mi is best associated with meat. Ella Nemcova of Regal Vegan has been on a quest to convince people otherwise. Her vegan version is the signature item at her all-vegan stall.

Recipe: Vegan Banh Mi (serves 3)
1 loaf crusty baguette
1 8oz container Faux Gras
1 small bunch cilantro, washed, roots & stems removed
1 half seedless cucumber, thinly sliced
1 jalapeño, thinly sliced
½ cup pickled carrots and daikon (recipe follows, but in a pinch, use kimchi)
3 tablespoons special sauce (recipe follows)

Cut off the ends from the baguette. Slice it in half.

With a spatula, spread the Faux Gras across the length of the bread. Start layering vegetables; jalapeño slices, cucumber slices, the pickled carrots and daikon, then stuff it with the cilantro.

Finally drizzle the special sauce over the sandwich filling, close and slice into 3 even portions with a serrated knife or have one very big sandwich.

Pickled Carrot and Daikon recipe
Grate, julienne or shred on the shredding disk of a food processor 2 large carrots and one big daikon. Set aside. Add ¼ cup of apple cider vinegar and ½ cup of water to a pint sized jar. Add 1 teaspoon salt and 1 teaspoon sugar. Stir to combine. Add the carrot and daikon and seal tightly. Let sit for at least a day though the longer this sits, the better it is.

Note: if you don’t have time to make the pickled veggies, dunk julienned carrots and daikon in white vinegar until you are ready to make the sandwich. About 15 minutes should suffice.

Special Sauce
Add 2 tablespoons Tamari sauce (or use soy sauce) and 2 tablespoons Sriracha to 16 oz of vegenaise. Whisk to combine and pour into a squeeze bottle. Keep in the fridge for use on — everything.

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