Tofu Banh Mi Sandwich
Tofu banh mi is made with thin, baked slabs of marinated tofu, quick pickled vegetables, and fresh herbs sandwiched between toasted bread. It's such a banger, you won't even miss the meat!
Ingredients
Quick Pickled Carrots
- 1 ½ cups shredded carrots
- ¼ cup + 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
- ¼ cup + 2 tablespoons water
- 2 tablespoons organic cane sugar or white granulated sugar
Tofu
- 14-16 oz block extra firm tofu sliced into ¼ inch slabs
- 2 tablespoons hoisin sauce
- 2 tablespoons honey or maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon ketchup
- 1 tablespoon low sodium soy sauce or tamari
- 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
- ¼ teaspoon Chinese five spice
- 2 small garlic cloves minced
Banh Mi Sandwich
- toasted airy bread such as baguette or ciabatta
- kimchi mayo or plain mayo
- paper thin slices of Persian or English cucumber
- paper thin slices of jalapeño optional
- cilantro, fresh mint or basil or a combination
Instructions
- Make pickled carrots. In a glass jar with a lid, add the rice vinegar, water, and granulated sugar. Shake until the sugar has dissolved, then add in shredded carrots. Push the carrots down to submerge them in the liquid (a muddler works great for this), put the lid back on, and store in the fridge until ready to assemble your sandwich.
- Preheat oven. Preheat oven to 400ºF/200ºC and line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Make marinade. In a small bowl whisk together hoisin sauce, honey, ketchup, reduced sodium soy sauce or tamari, toasted sesame oil, Chinese five spice, and minced garlic until smooth.
- Prep tofu. Remove the block of tofu from the package and pat dry using paper towels or a clean towel. Use a sharp knife to cut the block into thin ¼ inch slabs then place each piece directly on the prepared baking sheet in a single layer with a little space in between each one.
- Brush and bake. Generously brush the sauce on the top and sides of the tofu (you’ll have sauce leftover to brush the other side once cooked). Bake for 18 minutes, carefully flip the tofu slices, brush with the remaining sauce and bake for another 10 minutes or until the edges start to brown slightly.
- Assemble. Slather mayo or kimchi mayo on each side of the toasted bread then layer a few pieces of tofu, top with cucumber and jalapeño if using, followed by pickled carrots and fresh herbs. Slice in half and enjoy!
Notes
Cucumber & jalapeño - the best way to get paper thin slices is to use a mandoline slicer with a protective glove.
For the shredded carrots, I like to use the small shredder attachment on my mandoline slicer with a protective glove, which is great because I'm already using the slicer for the cucumber and jalapeño, so less clean up.
Servings - for this recipe, a 14 oz tofu block will feed 3 people & a 16 oz block will feed 4 people.
See the blog post for step-by-step photos, helpful tips, and a make it your way section with substitutions & variations.