Banh Mi Sandwich

I have to admit, I’ve never really had an authentic banh mi sandwich.  There are a lot of variations around, some have pate and sardines, some use ground pork, but in the end it’s a spicy pork sandwich with pickled veggies and a spicy mayo.

Side note:  I don’t like mayo.  When my step-son was little and I asked him one time when he was over what he wanted for lunch, he replied:  “I’ll have a mayo sandwich.”  I kind of threw up in my mouth a bit, then asked him what else, and he said “just mayo.” 

My spread is Greek yogurt, with a pinch of sugar and sriracha.  I do think the 24 hour marinade made this sandwich – the pork was so flavorful.

Second side note:  I know I’ve talked about it before, but Jimmy John’s sells their day old bread for .50 cents a loaf.   The man in front of me ordered a sandwich, drink and chips – his total was $11.84.  What the what?  Buy the bread for .50 cents and make your own sandwich at home. 😀

I scored at the Jewel discount meat bin (you’ll see below!) – I got a pound of thin sliced bone-in pork chops for $1.35.  Nice.  Since they were thin, they only took about 2 1/2 minutes per side over medium high heat.  

For the pickled carrots?  I just poured some pickle juice in a bowl with peeled strips of carrots – they were pickled in about 30 minutes.

This sandwich comes in at 7 smart points.  4 points for the bread and 3 points for the 3 ounces of pork I have on my sandwich – the rest is free. 😀

This sandwich is the bomb.com – so many flavors going on – garlicy spicy pork, perfectly cooked with the spicy “mayo” and crisp pickled veggies.  Love.  I know there are a lot of people who think that cilantro tastes like dish soap, but I puffy heart it. 

Best part is that there are leftovers for me to have a sandwich for lunch today – I am going to toast the bun today to see which way I like it better – crunchy bun or soft bun.  I’ll let you know.

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Banh Mi Sandwich

Yield: 4 sandwiches

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 35 minutes

I love everything about these sandwiches. The flavorful marinade on the pork, the crunchy vinegary veggies and the crunch of the French bread. On all plans this sandwich is 7 points - the meat by itself is 3 points.

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Ingredients

• 1 pound pork
• 2 tablespoons minced garlic
• 1 tablespoon teriyaki sauce
• 2 teaspoons sambal oelek (spicy chili sauce)
• 1 cup of carrots, peeled
• 1/2 cup pickle juice
• 1 cup sliced cucumbers
• 1 sliced red jalapeno
• 4 tablespoons cilantro
• 8 ounces of french bread
• For the spicy "mayo"
• 1/3 cup of Greek yogurt
• 1 pinch of sugar
• 2 teaspoons sriracha

Instructions

1. Mix the garlic, teriyaki sauce and sambal oelek together.  Put the pork in a ziploc bag, and pour marinade over and marinate for at least 12 hours, I did mine overnight.
2. About 30 minutes before eating, peel the carrots and submerge them in the pickle juice - they will be pickled in 30 minutes - they will be a bit wilty, but still crisp.
3. Mix the Greek yogurt, sugar and sriracha together, set aside.
4. Heat a non-stick skillet over medium high heat.  Spray with Pam and cook the pork for 2 1/2 minutes per side - you'll have to adjust this if your chops are thicker than mine - the ideal temp to pull pork is 145 degrees.
5. Let the pork rest 5 minutes before slicing.  Mine had a tiny side bone, so I cut the bones out and sliced the pork.
6. Assemble the sammie!  Spread some of the "mayo" on the top and bottom of the bun.  Put 3 ounces of the pork (or more - just count the points!) on the sandwich, then top with the pickled carrots, jalapeno, cucumber and cilantro.

Did you make this recipe?

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THE DISCOUNT MEAT BIN

I posted this picture below on my Instagram story, and I must have gotten 50 direct messages asking me what the hell the discount meat bin is. 

I usually only buy my protein at Jewel (I live in the Chicagoland area).  I have a $40 a week grocery budget and I try to stick to that as best I can.  Saturday I bought $16.70 worth of protein and saved $33 with all the discounts.  I can’t imagine spending $49.70 (full price) for meat, and then adding fruits, veggies, etc.

Third side note:  Mom, if you want to come over when I make veal meatballs – let me know!

When I did a grocery store tour with The Beef Checkoff back in 2015, the meat manager told us that it is illegal for stores to sell any meat after the sell by date.  So all the meat you see below had a sell by date of August 11 or 12 (I bought it on the 11th).  You need to use it within a day or freeze it.  I do my protein runs usually every other weekend because my meat haul will last me two weeks.  I then make my meal plan based off what proteins I got that week.

I am confident every store has this – so next time you go to Kroger, Publix, Winn-Dixie – wherever you shop – take a picture of this below and ask them if they have the same thing.  Maybe you just never noticed it??

I was out of foil – I usually individually wrap the meat in foil, then put it in a labeled ziplock bag.  Um, foil is expensive!  The roll I normally buy was $11 at Walmart for 35 sq. ft.  I saw this “butcher” paper next to it – 150 sq. ft. for only $6.98 – sold!

There is a shiny side and you put the meat on the glossy side, then wrap and label.  It said that beef lasts 6-12 months in the freezer without freezer burn.  

I also received a ton of questions on how to defrost.  That bone in pork chop below is pretty thick, so I would put it in my fridge before going to bed if I wanted to eat it the next night for dinner.

Smaller cuts I’d do the same thing, except take it out of the freezer and into the fridge before I left for work.  Never let you meat thaw on your counter.  As the meat comes to room temperature, it doesn’t take long for bacteria to form, and if you have a thin chop, you aren’t going to cook it long enough to get rid of the bacteria.

Oh yeah – I had Weight Watchers on Saturday and was down 1.8 for the week!  And um, not sure if you noticed, but I ate some amazing food last week.  The only difference is that I tracked everything – including wine and beer – and that makes all the difference.  I ate 194 of my allotted 196 points for the week.  

Jacob’s Dad came over for dinner last night and I grilled out – bone in chicken thighs, beef for Jacob and corn on the cob.  Guess what Hannah ate?  Honey Bunches of Oats.  😛

The dogs love corn on the cob 😀

I have to stay focused this week because this is typically how my brain works – I have a 1.8 loss and think “gosh, I had wine, beer and burgers and still lost!” and then get complacent about tracking and then the next week have a gain and wonder how that happened.

My friend Kim on Instagram (check out her YouTube Channel here!) has been setting herself daily goals, and here are mine.  The two biggest things on that list – getting 100 ounces of water and not eating snacks on the train ride home – I did that three times last week – nothing huge – like 100 calorie packs of Doritos at the train station, but I need to cut that out – and if I want to snack, it can only be fruit.

Fourth side note:  I NEED THIS SHIRT!

If you like pork sandwiches, try out my North Carolina Pork BBQ sandwich.

Happy Monday friends – if you overindulged over the weekend, don’t worry about it.  Shake yourself off and every day is a great day for a new beginning.

Make it a great day!