The burger is our national sandwich, and everyone has a favorite burger. I like the Jackson Hole version, a massive softball, seared on the flattop and quickly smothered by an inverted steel cup. It’s the old fry-steam method, I venture to say, rarely taught in cooking schools, and the product does taste a little bland-steaming isn’t necessarily the way to go with meat. But I like the crumbly texture and the screaming cry for ketchup, one of my favorite creations.
Soup Burg is a counter-only space across town, where the air is a haze of grease. Picture some guy in a minute studio apartment before a flattop cooking bacon, cheeseburgers, eggs, skirt steak, onions, mushrooms, and hot dogs all day long for years and you’ve got Soup Burg. Needless to say it’s a tasty burger.
But the burger is being challenged by a sandwich that’s been migrating speedily across the nation, a Vietnamese creation, the banh mi. We have several shops within a few blocks, but you can find banh mi in Kansas City and Des Moines and, frankly, wherever people like good food.
Banh mi is classic Vietnamese cooking, touching all the taste sensations. A sandwich roll is slathered with spicy mayo, then layered with crunchy grated carrots, thinly sliced steak marinated in soy and sugar, and topped with pickled cucumbers and cilantro. With each bite, you get a bit of vinegar, sugar, fragrant herbs, crunch, heat, rich mayo. There’s also a tasty Vietnamese pate, which, for practical home cooking, we have omitted.
While most banh mi has sirloin, after some testing, we found a combination of sirloin and short rib produces the most delicious sandwich. Try to find thick, meaty short ribs, as they have a high yield. Flanken-cut short ribs are even better, as they grill and slice well.
Beware burger, banh mi has arrived.
Banh mi
Yield: 4 sandwiches
¾ cup soy sauce
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
3 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons honey
1 teaspoon sesame oil
pinch red chili flakes
2 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
1 piece ginger, unpeeled, an inch long, and smashed
1 pounds sirloin, 2 pounds short ribs, bones removed
1 seedless cucumber, peeled and julienned thinly
2/3 cup white vinegar
2 tablespoons sugar
1/3 cup mayo
3 tablespoons sambal or sriracha
1 cup grated carrots, 4-5 carrots
1 bunch cilantro leaves, picked
4 small sub rolls
- Whisk first 7 ingredients in a bowl until the sugar dissolves. Stir in the garlic and ginger. Place the meat in a large ziplock bag, pour in the marinade, seal tightly, massage, and refrigerate. Marinate for at least 5 hours or overnight
- When ready to make the sandwich, combine sugar and vinegar in a small bowl and whisk vigorously until sugar is dissolved. Stir in cucumber, refrigerate for up to an hour.
- Whisk mayo and sambal or sriracha in a small bowl. (Increase or decrease heat to taste.) Refrigerate.
- Preheat broiler to high. Line a tray with aluminum foil and set a rack on top. Drain the meat from the marinade and place on rack. Set the tray on a rack close to the broiler and cook until done, flipping once. It should take about 12-15 minutes, and the meat should be deliciously charred. Remove from oven and let rest on the rack for 10 minutes. Slice the meat thinly.
To assemble banh mi: split a roll, generously smear one side with the spicy mayo, top with grated carrots, layer slices of the meat, top with pickled cucumber and a pile of cilantro leaves. Close up and chow.
