Ingredients
Equipment
Method
Make the Pickles
- Combine the rice vinegar, water, sugar, and salt in a bowl and stir until the sugar and salt dissolve completely. Add the julienned daikon and carrot. Press them down so they are fully submerged. Leave at room temperature for at least 1 hour. The vegetables are ready when they have softened slightly and taste sharp and clean. They will keep in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.
Assemble
- Split each baguette lengthwise, cutting about three quarters of the way through. Do not cut all the way through. The hinge keeps the sandwich together. Open the bread and press it flat gently with your palm.
- Spread a thin, even layer of Vietnamese mayonnaise on both inner surfaces of the bread. Then spread the pâté on the bottom half only. The Vietnamese mayonnaise goes on both sides. The pâté stays on the bottom. The fat layers create a moisture barrier that keeps the bread from going soggy. Do not skip either one.
- Lay the chả lụa slices on the pâté layer first. Add the chả bì on top. The cold cuts should cover the full length of the bread without stacking too thick in any one spot.
- Lay the cucumber slices along the length of the sandwich. Add a generous amount of drained pickled daikon and carrot. The pickles should be piled slightly higher than you think is right. They compress when you close the sandwich.
- Add the cilantro sprigs whole. Do not chop them. Lay the jalapeño slices over the top. Add 3 to 4 drops of Maggi Seasoning Sauce directly onto the filling. Close the sandwich and press down firmly with your palm. Serve immediately.
Notes
On Vietnamese mayonnaise: Vietnamese mayonnaise is the correct choice here. The recipe is on this site. If you do not have time to make it from scratch, Kewpie is the correct store-bought substitute. Do not use standard mayonnaise. The flavor profile is different enough to affect the finished sandwich.
On the cold cuts: Chả lụa and chả bì are available at Vietnamese grocery stores and most Asian supermarkets. If unavailable, substitute with good quality mortadella for the chả lụa and roast pork for the chả bì.
On substitutions: If you are outside a major Vietnamese market, build the sandwich with chả lụa and pâté only. A two-component thịt nguội is still correct. A thịt nguội made with poor substitutes is not.
On the pickles: The brine in this recipe follows the same formula as the Đồ Chua recipe on this site. If you have a jar already made, use those. The pickle time is 1 hour minimum. Two hours produces a better result.
On the bread: The Glass Crust baguette is not interchangeable with a standard French baguette. A thick chewy crust compresses the fillings and fights the sandwich. The Vietnamese baguette yields. If you cannot source one locally, the Glass Crust Bánh Mì Baguette recipe on this site produces the correct bread at home.