Banh Mi, Oh My!

For two years now, after the NYC Chinese New Year Parade, I get banh mi. I'm rarely in Chinatown so I take advantage of the fact that I am downtown. I never really knew what banh mi was, it's just something I'm nostalgic for (and it's so cheap!). When I was younger and my family would shop at the Asian grocery stores in Boston's Chinatown, my mother would always buy my siblings and I banh mi for lunch from the bakery counter (along with egg tarts, coconut breads, almond cookies, and sponge cake rolls for later). I wasn't really sure about the pate, mainly its texture, so just dug in without asking questions--- ignorance was bliss. I just loved the crusty bread and pickled vegetables. In NYC I like Paris Sandwich on Mott Street (add a hot black tea with milk and I am one happy camper!).

I came across a recipe for a take on Banh Mi (using rotisserie chicken instead of pork) in Gourmet Magazine that I thought would be fun to try... my results were pretty good, although the slaw didn't have the same degree of tangy-ness that pickled veggies do. Overall, I thought my sandwich turned out well, a little dry, perhaps because the liverwurst I used tasted more crumbly than creamy and I used a pretty crispy French baguette. Next time I make this I may add more oil, sugar, and mayo to soften and sweeten it up. However, I'm glad I no longer have to wait until next year's parade to enjoy a bit of my kind of comfort food :)


Paris Sandwich
113 Mott Street
New York, NY 10013
212-226-7221
http://www.parissandwich.com/