This tofu banh mi sandwich turned out absolutely incredible. Banh mi sandwiches are basically a Vietnamese version of a submarine sandwich. They are traditionally served on a baguette style bun and loaded with meat and pickled vegetables. You won’t be seeing any meat on our plates so we used marinated tofu as our substitute! By pressing our tofu and marinating it, we are essentially replacing any water content with delicious flavours from our marinade. Marinating tofu is a great way to spice up the otherwise bland flavour. It really soaks up flavours really well, you can make it taste like whatever you want! Not to mention it is so affordable.

We didn’t want to use canned pickled vegetables on our sandwich so we made a quick vinegar based dressing and let our veggies soak it up. The result was so delicious! They had a slight briny flavour but the flavours of the vegetables themselves still came through. We were delighted with how easy and delicious this tofu banh mi sandwich turned out and we hope you will be too. Be sure to tag us on Instagram if you make these at home and let us know what you think! Enjoy.

TOFU BANH MI SANDWICH

Recipe by plantbasedrelationshipCourse: DINNER, LUNCHDifficulty: Easy

Servings

4

servings

Prep time

30

minutes

Cooking time

40

minutes

Ingredients

• 1 block extra firm tofu, pressed and patted dry

• 1 medium sized carrot

• ¼ of a medium sized onion

• 1 small cucumber

• 1 cup shredded red cabbage

• 1/4 cup rice vinegar

• 4 sandwich sized ciabatta buns, sliced in half

• 2 tbsp vegan butter

• 1 tbsp chopped cilantro

• 2 tbsp vegan mayo

• For The Sauce

• 1 tbsp sesame oil

• 1 tbsp miso paste

• 2 tbsp soy sauce

• 1 tbsp tahini

• 1/2 tsp sriracha or favourite hot sauce

• 1 tsp agave syrup

• 2 garlic cloves, peeled

• 1 tsp grated ginger

• 2 tbsp water

Directions

• Slice tofu into 1/4 inch thick strips lengthwise. Thinly slice carrots, cucumber, cabbage, onion and cilantro. To a blender, add your sesame oil, miso paste, soy sauce, tahini, sriracha, agave syrup, garlic, ginger and water. Blend until smooth! This will be our marinade.
• Pour marinade over tofu and let sit for at least 15 minutes. Add thinly sliced carrots, onions, cucumbers and cabbage to a large bowl. Pour rice vinegar overtop. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Mix well.
• Heat a large skillet on medium heat and add 1 tbsp oil. Once oil is hot, lay tofu strips into it. Use a brush to slather with extra marinade leftover. Fry for 6-7 minutes each side or until golden brown. Butter the inside of your buns. Remove tofu from pan. Press buns butter side down directly into hot pan.
• Once buns are golden and crispy, spread vegan mayo, add tofu and top with slaw and cilantro.