Cook: Banh Mi

Summer is so glorious when you can cook from your garden. And so I've been preparing a lot of Mexican meals from the jalapenos, tomatoes, and onions from hubs' plot.

And I'm still loathe to eat out at this time during the pandemic but was wanting very much to eat a banh mi for even more fresh vegetables to go with some pork deliciousness in a meal. And so I went to a French grocery store and bought a can of pate along with a nougat. And trekked to one store for the pork belly and then to the supermarket for fresh baked baguette even if it wasn't going to be a loaf of rice and wheat flours like you'd get in Vietnam.

I chopped cilantro and coarsely julienned cucumbers from the garden after I peeled and de-seeded them.

Brought out the mayo and the ham loaf from the fridge.

And brought out Hoisin and Sriracha while browning the pork belly. And then the construction! I cut the baguette into 3 rolls--one for me and the other two for neighbors. I even wrapped their sandwich in parchment paper and rubber banded it together like a Vietnamese sandwich shop would.

Below you see my handiwork.

And my banh mi was a gustatory delight.