Filled with spicy meatballs, a pickled carrot and daikon slaw, cilantro, and Sriracha aioli, this take on the Vietnamese sandwich is about to blow your mind and tastebuds.
By The Woks of Life
This meatball banh mi with pickled carrot and daikon, Sriracha mayo, cilantro, and jalapeno, is the most surprisingly delicious thing I’ve made in a while. If you’re not already familiar, banh mi are a kind of Vietnamese sandwich, usually made with a soft Vietnamese baguette, raw veggies, and some kind of protein––often grilled pork or a pork cutlet. 
This banh mi recipe is made with juicy homemade pork meatballs, seasoned with garlic, herbs, Sriracha, and fish sauce. AMAZING.
For me, what makes this sandwich great, and banh mi great in general…is the mixture of the bright, crisp textures and flavors of the vegetables, and the richness of the meat (the healthy slathering of spicy mayo doesn’t hurt either). It’s picnic blanket food, for picnic blanket weather. So put these together, grab three other lucky sandwich recipients, and prepare for awesomeness.
It was adapted from this recipe on Epicurious.
If you love spicy, you will also love our Spicy Lamb Buns with Honey sauce or our spicy take on Cacio e Pepe.
PrintSpicy Banh Mi Stuffed with Pork Meatballs
- Yield: 4 sandwiches 1x
Description
Filled with spicy meatballs, pickled carrot-daikon slaw, cilantro, and Sriracha aioli, this take on a Vietnamese sandwich will blow your mind and tastebuds.
Ingredients
Carrot Daikon Salad:
- 2 medium carrots, julienned
- 1 cup julienned daikon radish
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 3 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
- 2 teaspoons sesame oil
Meatballs:
- 1 pound ground pork
- 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro, basil, or parsley
- 1 scallion, chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon fish sauce
- 1 tablespoon Sriracha
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- salt and pepper, to taste
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
To assemble the sandwiches:
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 1/4 cup mayonnaise
- 2 teaspoons Sriracha
- 1 baguette, cut into 4 equal pieces and lightly toasted
- 1 jalapeño, seeded and thinly sliced
- fresh cilantro
Instructions
- Start by preparing the carrot and daikon. Add the julienned carrots and daikon to a large bowl and toss in the sugar, salt, vinegar and sesame oil. Set aside for 1 hour, stirring occasionally.
- While that’s going, thoroughly combine all the meatball ingredients in a bowl, and form into meatballs (you should get about 20). Place the meatballs on a parchment lined baking sheet, and transfer to the freezer for 20 minutes. After the meatballs have been chilled, heat a tablespoon of oil in a cast iron or nonstick skillet over medium high heat. Fry the meatballs until browned on all sides and cooked through.
- In a separate bowl, combine the mayonnaise and Sriracha. Open up each piece of bread, and spread the Sriracha mayonnaise on each side. Fill with the pickled carrots and daikon, cooked meatballs, jalapeños, and cilantro. Serve!
- Category: Main, Sandwich
I made these tonight and plan to make them for a crew dinner. I love these sandwiches. My grandson ate up the meatballs and vegetable with rice.