Take Banh Mi – A Gluten-free Roasted Pork Belly Banh Mi Sandwich that will blow your dang mind!! Guaranteed! This is my take on all the classic flavors of this traditional Vietnamese sandwich, updated to be gluten-free.
Thinly sliced ham piled high, slow roasted caramelized pork belly, cucumbers, jalapeños, sriracha mayo and a handful of aromatic fresh herbs. That’s right! This is my take on a classic Vietnamese Banh Mi Sandwich. Hence the Take Banh Mi! Yup, a straight-up sandwich recipe, on actual (gluten-free) BREAD on Tasty Yummies. What is up?
First off, it has to be known that I am not some crazy food perfectionist. F perfection! While my mission with this website and the work I do is to offer healthful recipes, to give you all tons of options, to hopefully you inspire to move away from the often common, nutrient-depleted fare – I am also not a monster. Sometimes I will have a tasty AF gluten-free sandwich, if the mood strikes. With this happening a mere few times a year at this point, I still feel really good about my life choices. My aggressive consumption of Big F-ing Salads far outweighs the occasional GF sammie! Beyond all that, creating an epic sandwich for a good cause – that’s definitely my style.
Banh Mi Sandwich. A Sandwich for a Good Cause.
When my pals at Canyon Bakehouse asked if I would take part in The Sammie Smackdown Challenge, with the potential for a $10,000 grand prize being awarded to the charity of my choice – how in the world could I say ‘no’?
So, I put my philanthropy hat on, along with my sammie-making hat and decided I would go all in! No holding back. I thought about the single best sandwich I had in most recent times and I went to town. My entry, the Take Banh Mi Sandwich was born and here we are with an epic Gluten-free Banh Mi Sandwich.
Joyful Heart Foundation.
For my charity I chose the incredible Joyful Heart Foundation. Joyful Heart is a leading national organization with a mission to transform society’s response to sexual assault, domestic violence, and child abuse and support survivors’ healing.
Through healing, education, and advocacy, they are paving the way for innovative approaches to treating trauma, igniting shifts in the way the public views and responds to these horrific acts of violence and reforming legislation to ensure justice for survivors – and ultimately working to end this violence, forever!
I Need Your Help.
Here’s the thing. I don’t want this to all this sandwich creating to be for nothing, but most importantly, I really want to see my charity, The Joyful Heart, be the recipient of this amazing prize! As a 100% privately funded, non-profit organization I know it could make a huge impact in the very important work that they do – so this is where you come in! Their work is only made possible through donations. So you have to vote for my sandwich to win. And guess what, you can vote once a day for this month long campaign. So, set your reminders and get those votes in daily!! And spread the word, ask your friends and family to vote, too. This is important!! Plus, if my sandwich wins, I will come to all of your houses and make you this sandwich.*
How to Make the Take Banh Mi Sammie the Winner:
• VOTE for my Take Banh Mi sandwich in the Sammie Smackdown contest on Canyon Bakehouse’s website. You can vote once a day, EVERY SINGLE DAY until the contest ends on 8/20.
• Spread the word! Share my sammie / the video on my Instagram and encourage your pals and followers to vote for my sammie, too!
• Make my Take Banh Mi sammie. Share your sammie photos and videos encourage folks to vote, then tag me, so I can repost!
BONUS: with every vote, you are entered to win a year’s supply of gluten-free bread, too!
Now, Let’s Talk about this Epic Sammie.
The Take Banh Mi Sandwich is exactly that. My take on the favorite Vietnamese Banh Mi sandwich. I change things up a little and swap in a lightly caramelized roasted pork belly along with a little high-quality ham, often it is served with slow roasted pork tenderloin and pate, but this is far easier and it’s loaded with flavor!!. Traditionally served on a crispy gluten-filled baguette, to make this beauty gluten-free, we use the Canyon Bakehouse Heritage Style Honey White, toasted up real nice! This is my pick for THE best gluten-free sandwich bread on the market. It’s larger/wider, it holds up super well to an epic sandwich such as this one, plus the subtle sweet of the honey is so complimentary of all these flavors.
Other than those swaps, I stay true to the other classic elements that make this sandwich so totally irresistible with it’s array of balanced but very unique flavors. The quick-pickled carrots and daikon, sliced cucumbers and jalapeño, and a sriracha mayo, plus the fresh cilantro and mint, SO good!
VOTE HERE FOR THE BANH MI SAMMIE
Take Banh Mi: Gluten-free Roasted Pork Belly Banh Mi Sandwich
Ingredients
- 4 slices Canyon Bakehouse Heritage Style Honey White, toasted or grilled to your liking
- 4 pieces thick cut roasted pork belly strips, or thick-cut bacon - see below
- 4 slices freshly sliced, high-quality gluten-free deli ham
- Pickled Carrot and Daikon - MAKE AHEAD see below
- thinly sliced red chiles or jalapeño
- thinly sliced cucumber
- fresh cilantro
- fresh mint
- Sriracha Mayo - see below
Instructions
- To compose each of your sandwiches, on all four pieces of toasted Canyon Bakehouse Heritage Style bread, smear a thin layer of the sriracha mayo. Then on two of the slices of toasted bread, lay out two slices of ham on each piece. On top of that, to each sandwich add two slices of the thick-cut roasted pork belly. Layer then on top of that, a single layer of the thinly sliced cucumber and the chiles or jalapeño, if using.
- Finish with a heaping spoonful of the pickled carrots and daikon, a generous bunch of the fresh cilantro and fresh mint. Add more sriracha aioli to the top pieces of bread, if you’d like. Top with the remaining slices of toasted bread. Enjoy!
Pickled Carrot and Daikon
Ingredients
- 4 oz carrots - julienned or cut into thin match-like strips
- 4 oz daikon radish, cut the same way as carrots
- 2 cups water, slightly warm enough to dissolve the salt and sugar
- 1 tablespoon sugar, or other sweetener
- 1 tablespoon salt
- ¼ - ⅓ cup* distilled white vinegar or rice vinegar
Instructions
- NOTE: I suggest you start with 1/4 cup of vinegar and taste the mixture. If you want it more tangy/vinegary, add more vinegar to taste
- In a large bowl, mix the water, sugar, salt and vinegar. Whisk until the sugar and salt are dissolved.
- In a clean, glass jar, add the carrots and daikon. Pour the vinegar mixture over until the veggies are completely covered in the liquid.
- Cover the jar and place in the refrigerator, at least overnight. The longer it sits the better the flavor. They’ll last up to a few weeks in the fridge.
Roasted Pork Belly
Ingredients
- ½ lb high-quality properly-raised pork belly, cut into thick-cut bacon like slabs or thick-cut bacon. You want four, approximately 6-inch long strips, around 1/2-inch thick
- 1 tablespoon honey
- ½ teaspoon very finely minced garlic
- ½ teaspoon very finely minced fresh ginger
- 1 tablespoon fish sauce
- 1 tablespoon coconut aminos, GF soy sauce or tamari will also work
- sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400ºF. Line a baking sheet with foil or parchment paper and set an oven-proof rack over the foil. Arrange the bacon in a single layer on the rack.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the remaining ingredients. Brush the mixture over the entire surface area of the pork belly or bacon, flip and do the same on the other side.
- Bake, rotating the sheet halfway through, until the bacon is brown and shiny, 30 to 40 minutes. Let cool for about 5 minutes, then loosen the slices from the rack with a metal spatula. Continue to cool for another 5 minutes before serving; the bacon will crisp as it cools.
- NOTE: cook time will vary based on the thickness of the pork belly or bacon, so best to start checking around 15 to 20 minutes.
*Major JK. This is a joke. But in my heart I totally would.
