I woke one morning about  two weeks ago wanting, craving, absolutely determined to have a vegan bahn mi sandwich. Problem is, that doesn’t exist as an option in good ole’ south Florida. Luckily, with a quick run to the supermarket and the local Asian market, it’s not that difficult to put one together yourself 🙂 And even better than Alex and Marlowe both will not/cannot turn down a good Asian feast at home.
You’ll Need:
Vietnamese or French baguette
thin sliced, fried tofu (or seitan or bean curd)*
super thin sliced (or mandolined) cucumber strips
thin sliced green onions
quick pickled, julienned carrot, daikon radish, or unripened mango— any or all**
fresh herbs– we used a combination of mint, thai basil, and cilantro.
vegan mayo (I like vegenaise)
vegetarian fish sauce***
lime
*to prepare tofu: extra firm tofu works best. drain out water, wrap tofu block in thick kitchen towel, place a heavy pot or dish on top and let sit for 20+ minutes. Slice up tofu, and fry in generous amounts of frying oil (canola, vegetable, or coconut). Season with salt. &If you’d like, you can always marinate the tofu in soy sauce before frying.
**to prepare quick pickled vegetables: I liked the combination of the three vegetables/fruits, but if it’s easier, feel free to just use carrots— or whatever you prefer. Julienne them, and toss in a bit of vinegar (rice or apple cider vinegar would work best) with a pinch of salt and a pinch of sugar. Let sit, while you prepare the rest of your ingredients. Also, seriously, I don’t use my mandoline everyday or even every week, but when I need to, oh boy it is REALLY handy! Make things like this a snap!
***vegetarian fish sauce: most asian markets should carry it. It may not be the healthiest/most natural of products, but a little bit here and there won’t kill you. Feel free to omit if preferred or if necessary. Soy sauce and/or sriracha make a great topper too.
// 
Steps:
1. Toast your baguette in oven at 350 for a few minutes (until lightly toasted and warmed)
2. Slice open baguette, spread on a bit of vegan mayo.
3. Pile in toppings!
4. Pour a bit of fish sauce on that bad boy.
5. Garnish with lime
6. EAT.
Enjoy!

13 Comments

  1. Oh this looks DELICIOUS!! It gives me a great reason to purchase that gluten free baguette I've been eyeing at the shops recently. (Didn't want to get it and risk smashing the whole thing with butter, or vegan butter, or cheese, or jam, and then buy five more only to repeat the preggo baguette craving cycle again and again…ha.)

  2. YES! Thanks for this drea, I thought it would be almost impossible to vegan up a Bahn Mi – i'm defo going to try this 🙂

  3. YUM! I have been craving a veggie bahn mi for ages but didn't know where to find them in Amsterdam. Now I can make one myself, yay!

  4. For the record I would absolutely buy and use a cookbook styled like this.

    Your recipes are always something that makes me immediately say "ooh I need to make that."

  5. Yum! You had me at "crusty baguette". Is the vegan fish sauce something I might find at a Whole Foods?

  6. i love bank mi sandwiches! never thought about doing them vegan. awesome recipe, thank you!