Banh appétit
Vietnamese sandwich a zesty solution for leftover turkey
And while I’ve made many a sandwich with leftover Thanksgiving turkey, this particular Leftover Turkey Banh Mi was a first for me.
The super-easy, spectacular-looking, Vietnamese street-style sandwich comes from English celebrity chef Jamie Oliver, who described it as a perfect use for leftovers on the day after Christmas. A five-minute how-to video was posted last Dec. 25 on his Food Tube YouTube channel.
On this side of the pond, turkey typically is the Thanksgiving centerpiece. So this new(ish) sandwich recipe seems fitting for this weekend, when many American kitchens are overrun with extra white and dark meat.
It features reheated dark meat in sweet chili sauce on an oven-warmed baguette spread with pâté, presumed – in Oliver’s recipe – to also be leftover from the holiday dinner. The pâté adds richness, but if your Thanksgiving doesn’t include the meaty paste and you don’t feel like buying some just to spread on this sandwich, rest assured your banh mi will still taste good – if you like the zesty bright flavor of the other ingredients. The leftover turkey is topped with lime-spiked mayonnaise, fresh cilantro leaves and shredded carrot, cucumber and cabbage.
It’s a twist on the classic banh mi, a product of French influence – pâté, mayo, baguette – on flavors of Indochina like ginger, soy sauce, cilantro, chili and lime.
(French colonization in Vietnam lasted nearly a century. France officially gained control of Vietnam in 1885, forming French Indochina in 1887. The federation – including Cambodia and, later, Laos – lasted until 1954.)
In Vietnam, the sandwich is usually filled with pork, pork liver pâté or chicken as well as pickled carrots, shredded daikon, cilantro, cucumber and chili slices, chili sauce and mayo.
In the Inland Northwest, it’s becoming more popular – not only at Vietnamese eateries but cafés and sandwich shops like Stella’s and Daybreak Café in Spokane.
Working with leftovers, this banh mi recipe comes together in about 20 or 30 minutes. (Picking cilantro leaves off their stems always seems to take a while.)
I used rice vinegar because that’s what I had on hand, skipped the pâté and didn’t miss it. The veggies, ginger, cilantro and sauces add a tangy freshness, which is balanced by the crusty chewiness of the baguette and richness of the dark meat.
Leftover Turkey Banh Mi
From www.jamieoliver.com
Splash extra virgin olive oil, plus 2 to 3 tablespoons for the flavored mayonnaise
7 ounces leftover cooked turkey, preferably brown meat
1 lime
2 tablespoons sweet chili sauce
2 medium baguettes
1 clove of garlic
1 1/4-inch piece of fresh ginger
Sea salt
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
1/2 a small bunch of fresh cilantro
1 carrot
1 cucumber
1/4 of a white cabbage
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon low-salt soy sauce
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
4 tablespoons leftover chicken liver pâté
1 fresh red chili (optional)
Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Add splash of olive oil to large frying pan over medium heat. Roughly shred and add turkey (if you have the skin, add that, too) and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, or until warmed through.
Grate in lime zest and stir in chili sauce, then reduce heat to low and cook for 2 to 3 minutes more, or until crisp and slightly caramelized.
Meanwhile, place baguettes in oven. Peel and place garlic and most of the ginger into a mortar, then using a pestle bash to a smooth paste with a pinch of salt and 2 to 3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil. Add in cilantro leaves and bash, then muddle in mayo and juice from lime, and stir to combine. Set aside.
Peel carrot, then coarsely grate and add to a large bowl along with grated cucumber and cabbage. Peel, finely chop and add remaining ginger, then sprinkle over a pinch of salt and scrunch together with your hands to get rid of any excess liquid.
Add sesame oil, soy sauce and vinegar, and toss well to combine.
Slice warm baguettes in half lengthwise, spread pâté onto one side of each, then pile on turkey and vegetable mixture. Finish with a dollop of lime-spiked mayo, then finely chop and scatter over the chili (if using) along with reserved cilantro leaves.
Press down slightly on baguettes to close, then cut banh mi into halves widthwise and serve.
Yield: 4