← Nouns Cooking · Vietnamese

Ingredients

• 2 Carrot, cut into thin matchsticks
• 200 g Daikon radish, cut into thin matchsticks
• 120 ml warm water
• 120 ml Rice vinegar
• 3 tbsp Sugar
• 1 tsp Salt
• 600 g skin-on pork belly, in one piece
• 1 tbsp salt, for the skin
• ½ tsp Chinese five-spice (optional)
• 4 small light, crusty baguettes or rolls
• 100 g pork or chicken liver pâté
• 6 tbsp Mayonnaise
• 1 Cucumber, cut into long strips
• 1 bunch coriander sprigs
• 1 jalapeño or long red chilli, thinly sliced
• 2 Spring onion, cut into lengths (optional)
• 2 tsp Maggi seasoning or soy sauce

Method

1. Make the pickles: stir the sugar and salt into the warm water until dissolved, add the vinegar and pour over the carrot and daikon in a jar. Leave for at least 30 min (they keep for a week in the fridge).
2. Heat the oven to 220°C (200°C fan, 425°F). Pat the pork completely dry, score the skin, rub the flesh with five-spice and the skin with the salt.
3. Roast the pork skin side up on a rack over a tray for 40–45 min, until the skin is puffed and crackling and the meat is cooked through (at least 71°C / 160°F). Rest for 10 min, then slice thinly.
4. Warm the baguettes in the oven for 3–4 min until the crust is crisp, then split them lengthways without cutting all the way through.
5. Spread pâté on one side and mayonnaise on the other. Fill with pork, cucumber, a handful of drained pickles, coriander, chilli and spring onion, then add a few drops of Maggi. Eat straight away while the bread crackles.

Tips

• Classic bánh mì rolls have a thin, shattering crust and a fluffy, airy inside; a light French stick is the closest stand-in.
• Short on time? Use leftover roast pork, char siu or grilled lemongrass chicken instead of the pork belly.

Sources

Written in our own words after cross-checking these recipes:

Hungry Huy Marion's Kitchen RecipeTin Eats