Category: From the Kitchen

Don’t ever go to the K-Roger when you’re hungry and they have a sale on pork.

Or, do.

This was delicious. I’ve had about what seems like 16 different meals from that little pork chop incident at the store. But, this was, by far, the best.

Ingredients

2 (6-8oz) pork chops, thinly sliced

2 demi baguettes or bolillos, horizontally halved

1 TBS fish sauce

1 tsp Truvia (use sugar if you roll like that)

1 TBS Sambal (sub Sriracha if it floats your boat)

3 large garlic cloves, peeled

2 green scallions, roughly chopped (are there other colored scallions? why do we say green?)

1 TBS cilantro, chopped + a few springs to top your Bahn Mi

1 TBS canola or coconut oil

1 TBS butter

Salt/pepper to taste

2 TBS hoisin sauce

Instructions

Place the fish sauce, Truvia, sambal, garlic cloves, green scallions (not the orange ones), cilantro, and oil into a mini food processor and zap until the ingredients create a loose paste/marinade. Set aside.

Place the thinly sliced pork into a gallon-sized resealable plastic bag, season pork with salt and pepper. Add the marinade into the bag over the pork. Remove air from bag by carefully rolling up the bag a bit and then sealing the bag. Once the bag is tightly sealed, massage the bag with your hands or roll around on the counter until the pork is completely covered with the marinade. Set aside.

Heat a skillet to medium-hi temperature. Butter the interior four sides of the halved demi baguette and place the baguettes open-side-down onto a skillet to toast. If you don’t butter your bread, why are you in the kitchen? Get out. You don’t deserve this Bahn Mi.

Once the buttered baguette is toasted, remove from skillet and set aside.

Open bag of marinating pork and add to skillet to cook. Increase heat to sear pork on all sides, stirring infrequently to ensure browning occurs. For best results, use a cast iron skillet.

While the pork is browning, you can use this time to make a quick pickle of cucumber and carrot for the Bahn Mi topping. Super easy. Ready?

Slice matchsticks of one carrot and one cucumber. Add to a bowl, add 1/4 cup of rice wine vinegar, 2 tsp of Truvia, and season with salt and pepper. If you want, throw in a little cilantro. If you’re daring, throw in a few slivers of jalapeño. You’re welcome.

Back to the Bahn Mi. Once the pork is cooked through, remove from heat and set aside. Grab your BUTTERED and toasted baguettes, and smear some hoisin sauce on each side. Add a healthy amount of pork to the sandwich, top with your sweet and spicy pickled veggies, and don’t tell me I never brought anything good into your life.