This sandwich is traditionally served on Vietnamese bread, which is somewhat similar to a French Baguette. The recipe below is one I adapted from the recipe on the Cooking Light website.
Ingredients
1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
3/4 Tbl sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 cup julienne-cut peeled carrots
3/4 pounds eggplant
3/4 Tbl canola oil
1/6 cup creamy peanut butter
2 Tbl minced green onions
1/2 Tbl minced peeled fresh ginger
2 tsp yellow miso (soybean paste)
3/4 tsp fresh lime juice
4 slices sandwich bread
1/2 cup thinly sliced cucumber
1 thinly sliced avocado
1/2 cup mung bean sprouts
1/2 cup fresh cilantro leaves
Thinly sliced jalapeño pepper (optional)
Method
- Preheat oven to 375° F.
- Combine vinegar, sugar, and salt in a bowl, stirring until sugar dissolves.
- Add carrot; let stand 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Drain.
- Heat a grill pan over medium-high heat.
- Cut eggplant stem off. Peel.
- Cut eggplant lengthwise into 1/4-inch-thick slices; brush with oil.
- Grill 7 minutes or until tender, turning once.
- Combine peanut butter, onions, ginger, miso, and juice in a bowl; stir well.
- Spread bottom half of bread with peanut butter mixture.
- Arrange eggplant evenly over peanut butter mixture.
- Arrange carrot mixture, cucumber, sprouts, and avocado evenly over eggplant.
- Top with cilantro and jalapeño.
- Place top half of bread on sandwich.
- Place sandwich on a baking sheet, cut sides up.
- Broil until golden brown, about 2 minutes per side.
This Grilled Eggplant Banh Mi Sandwich recipe serves 2.
It is approximately 434 calories per serving.
Where can you reliably find mung bean sprouts in Columbia County? I want to try this!
Oh, I grow my own. It’s really easy. I used to go to the Asian food store to get the seeds but then I found out that Bob’s Red Mill has them. And they’re available everywhere – even at Price Chopper. Here’s an article I wrote about the seed starter.
Also, the sprouts aren’t part of the original recipe. That was me just adding stuff. (I added the avocado, too.)