Bahn Mi Spring Rolls

Today’s recipe was inspired by the show Street Food (on Netflix). I was watching the seventh episode, which focuses on street food in Vietnam, and I saw a vendor making a bahn mi sandwich. The process of cooking the meat for the sandwich took hours, but the assembly of the sandwich took seconds and looked like it was packed with flavor. I have never had a bahn mi sandwich, but I have had the Bahn Mi Inspired Noodle Bowl at Trader Joe’s. It is a pre-packaged cold dish of rice noodles, pickled veggies, tofu, and a tangy vinaigrette. As the show went on, I decided that the bowl is actually pretty good take on the sandwich. I started to imagine putting those ingredients on a crusty French baguette and immediately began salivating. Obviously, I can’t have a traditional bahn mi sandwich, so I started thinking of ways I could get those flavors easily at home.

• 

I really wanted to create a sort of gluten free Chinese bao bun to put the ingredients into, but that recipe is going to take a lot more development on my part. The bao bun led me to think about eating with my hands, which led to this recipe: the bahn mi spring roll.

I started researching what exactly goes into a traditional bahn mi sandwich and was bombarded by recipes. So many bloggers have posted their versions of the sandwich and made me realize that the people actually making the authentic dish are not going to be posting about it on Pinterest. After sifting through dozens of recipes, I finally pieced together the ingredients that were similar in most of the recipes; at this point, I was actually pretty annoyed. Not just because I had spent a lot more time on figuring out my recipe than I anticipated, but because I was annoyed at the nerve of some of these bloggers. What does this stay at home mom who lives in Chicago know about a bahn mi sandwich? Why does this guy who’s blog is only filled with Instant Pot recipes think he knows how to make this sandwich?

Naturally, I was just overthinking things, but I definitely blame the show Ugly Delicious that I had just finished watching (also on Netflix … yes, I watch a lot of food shows). On the show, chef David Chang seeks out a certain food each episode and starts a dialogue about it. Who made this first? Which culture has the best version of this food? What are the cultural and racial implications of the food? What are the biases that people in America have for or against these foods? These were questions that I had never thought about before, but were now swirling around in my mind. Did I even have a right to recreate a version of the bahn mi sandwich and post it? Is it okay for me to call these bahn mi spring rolls even though I am still not quite sure what ingredients are in it? Should I add “inspired” to the title so people aren’t offended? Is this disrespectful to do because I’m not being authentic?

However, as I thought back on the show, a one particular instance came to mind. In episode 6, a chef in Tokyo named Zaiyu Hasegawa had created a dish inspired by Kentucky Fried Chicken. The dish is a battered and fried chicken wing that is stuffed with rice, sesame seeds, and umeboshi plums (Japanese pickled plums). He said in the episode, “I love tradition. But, if you just keep doing it that way, they [Americans] won’t really like Japanese cuisine, so it’s about making that a little more fun, and making it good.” I’m definitely not saying that Kentucky Fried Chicken is an authentic food in and of itself. But the whole point of Ugly Delicious is to show that people take foods from other cultures all the time and make it their own—and that’s okay!

Though I am now going to be added to those bloggers that have created a version of the bahn mi, I am in no way attempting to say that this recipe is authentic. It is my own twist on a dish from another culture that I think is awesome.

*Quick digression: In that same episode, Aziz Ansari says, “For any skill you can imagine, it’s just a matter of time before some Japanese person gets obsessed with it and wants to do it and then they’re gonna be really good at it.” This quote explains so much to me. One, because I steal things from people all the time and make what I think is a better version of it. That is quite literally all I did when I was a teacher. Second, and more egotistically, I feel like I can become slightly above average at everything I try and put effort into. Yet, I am never the best—I’m probably in the 3rd through 8th best range. But I am only half Japanese! This explains everything! Do you see what I’m saying?

• 

In this take on the bahn mi sandwich, I also created a sriracha dipping sauce to go with it. The spice and zip of the sauce really complements the freshness of the raw veggies and the sweet tanginess of the pickled veggies. However, I went way off base here. Instead of using mayonnaise, I used … dairy free yogurt. Gasp! I tried, I really tried to want to make a spicy mayo dipping sauce, but I couldn’t bring myself to buy a jar of mayo. I stood in the condiments aisle for a while just staring, trying to figure out which brand looked the least gross, when I realized I had been making a disgusted face the entire time I had been standing there. I don’t know what it is about mayo, but I have some sort of mental block against it that I developed when I was a child. Regardless, I tried to make some kind of spicy sauce with yogurt as the base instead, so here we are!

I will warn you: these spring rolls do take a little time and patience to assemble. To make it easier on yourself, just buy pre-julienned carrots and cabbage. I got mine from Trader Joe’s and I honestly couldn’t have cut them better myself. So please, go create and enjoy these non-authentic bahn mi spring rolls!

• 

• 

Bahn Mi Spring Rolls

• 

Servings: 2-3
Time: 40 minutes

Quick Pickled Veggies
1/4 cup Apple Cider Vinegar
1/4 cup Rice Wine Vinegar
1/2 cup Water
1 tablespoon Lime Juice
1/2 teaspoon Garlic Powder
1 teaspoon Salt
2 tablespoons Agave (or Honey)
2 teaspoons Sugar
1 tablespoon Tamari or Bragg’s Coconut Aminos (aka gluten free soy sauce)
1 cup Julienned Carrots
1 cup Julienned Red Cabbage
1 cup Julienned Red Onion
1 sliced Jalapeño (optional, for more spice)

1. Pour the apple cider vinegar, rice wine vinegar, water, lime juice, garlic powder, salt, agave, sugar, and tamari into a medium bowl and whisk until fully combined.
2. Place the carrots, red cabbage, and red onion into a small pot and cover with your pickling liquid.
3. Set the pot on the stove and turn on the heat to medium-low. Once the liquid begins to bubble, turn down the heat to a low setting and let simmer for 10 minutes.
4. After the 10 minutes, pour the veggies and liquid back into the medium bowl to cool while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.

*You can also make this ahead of time and store in the fridge for later use!

• 

• 

Bahn Mi Spring Rolls
1/3 (6 ounce) package Thin Rice Noodles
1 package Trader Joe’s Sriracha Baked Tofu (Sprouts also has a version of this)
2 Baby Cucumbers (1 English Cucumber works too)
1 Red Bell Pepper
8 Rice Papers
Quick Pickled Veggies
1 handful of Cilantro (VERY optional—so optional that I only used cilantro for my photos)

1. Heat about 2 cups of water in a medium-size pot. Once the water is boiling, add the thin rice noodles to the pot.
2. Once the noodles have softened, turn off the heat and allow the noddles to soak while you cut your veggies.
3. Cut the Trader Joe’s Sriracha Baked Tofu, baby cucumbers, and red bell pepper into long, thin slices. Set off to the side in cute little piles that are perfect for an Instagram story.
4. Don’t forget your rice noodles! Sample a noodle to ensure that it is fully softened. (If it is still crunchy, leave in the pot for a few more minutes.)
5. Drain the hot water, give the noodles a nice bath in cold water, then set off to the side.
6. Fill a large bowl with warm water, dip one piece of rice paper in the water, and slowly submerge. Keep the rice paper submerged for about 30-40 seconds until soft.
7. Gently spread the soft rice paper on a large cutting board.
8. It’s assembly time! In the middle of the rice paper (about an inch from either side), place 2-3 slices of the tofu, cucumbers, and bell pepper. On top, lay some quick pickled veggies and thin rice noodles.
9. Fold the left and right sides of the rice paper over the ingredients (it will not completely cover them).
10. Fold the top of the rice paper completely over the ingredients and start to roll!
11. Roll, roll, roll as tight as you can until you have reached the bottom of the rice paper.
12. Repeat this process until all of your ingredients are gone!

Optional Sriracha Yogurt Sauce
4 tablespoons Plain Dairy Free Yogurt (I used Forager brand)
2 tablespoons Sriracha (add more if you want more spice!)
1/4 teaspoon Lime Juice
1/8 teaspoon Garlic Powder
1/8 teaspoon Salt

1. Place all ingredients in a small sauce dish and mix with a fork until blended.
2. Dip your colorful completed spring rolls in the sauce and devour.

•