turkey meatball banh mi

do you know how many things

i cook, bake, mix together that

you never hear about?

too many. so two weeks

ago, i made a pact with myself

that it all would change.

and then the screen went black

on the computer.

this is not some blogger

metaphor for writer's block.

it actually stopped functioning,

refused to produce an image.

no computer aside, we got really

lucky. the problem, it turns out,

was a known malfunction and fixed

for free. but, it kind of put things

on-hold here for a while,

dinners piling up on the

memory card

and some meals, not even

making it to the camera at all.

but now, the computer's back,

most of the pictures are downloaded

and i'm trying really hard to recall

the details of some of the dinners

i've made over the past couple weeks.

but one dish that i have zero

trouble remembering was last

sunday's:

turkey meatball banh mi.

i've had my eye on the recipe

for 4 months, ever since

bon appetit published a

pork version in january.

truth be told, i wanted to make

these sandwiches the minute

i saw the recipe, so it seems

like i've known about them for

much, much longer.

i know banh mi is quite the craze.

or it was or it will be or something.

but, i first stumbled across

banh mi two years ago, at an

event in which i was partially responsible

for assembling minis, layered on a crostini

that would later be passed around

on pretty little trays.

it wasn't trendy. it was work.

they were were quite

a job to put together:

from the little i can remember:

a smear of chicken pate,

shreds of marinated chicken,

a cilantro leaf,

chiffonades of basil,

pickled carrots and daikon,

microgreens and a tiny

dollop of garlicky mayonnaise.

the chicken,

i could have done without,

but i'm a sucker for liver

and anything pickled.

i went home knowing i was

late to the banh mi game and

googled it anyway.

what i learned:

they are crazy cheap,

can be found in little tiny shops

in the city and, properly,

are served on gum-shattering

crusty breads. i wanted one.

it took months before i finally

set out to make one on my own,

only to admit, that even though

i'd never had the real thing,

these were not quite right.

that weekend, we visited

colleen and christian in philly,

told them about my attempt at

banh mi two nights before and then

became unbelievably excited when

i found out that they didn't know

what banh mi was. i was, at this point,

a wee bit obsessed with banh mi.

cut to the next day,

when the four of us,

on the way to somewhere else,

unknowingly parked

in front of a tiny, tiny

storefront, reading banh mi.

we were coming from dim sum

and not very hungry, but

we knew that we had to buy one.

for $4, we bought a gigantic

chicken banh mi, asked for it to

be split four ways and stood

on the sidewalk in front,

eating our share.

none of us were especially hungry.

all of us, i think, could have split another.

colleen talks about it here.

so, when i saw this recipe,

i wanted in. and last week,

i finally got it together

to make them.

i'll say this:

they were easy,

they were fun

and most of the work

(except for the cooking

of the meatballs) can be

done earlier in the day so that

when you're ready to serve,

all that's left is assembly.

not only that, but i think

everything will taste even

better with a few hours

of sitting time.

i'll admit,

i wasn't crazy about the

pickling part of this recipe.

for everything - and i've thought about this,

i really do mean everything - else

that i've ever pickled, i've

heated the vinegar mixture first.

here, not only was the mixture

just swished together at room

temperature, but it also used,

in my opinion, way too little

vinegar. yes, this may be because

instead of grating

the carrots

and the daikon,

i julienned them,

but still: a 1/4 cup of liquid

for 4 cups of veggies?

so, i kept adding rice wine vinegar

until i realized that i had added a little

over 1 1/4 cups. i felt better about

the chances of all of the veggies pickling,

instead of just the select few on the bottom.

it was good and vinegary -

especially on the leftovers the next night.

still, next time, i think i'll use this standby.

instead of pate or soft garlic butter,

these sandwiches call for mayonnaise

that's been spiked with sriracha and sliced scallions.

i used low-fat mayo,

squeezed in extra hot sauce

and added more sliced scallions.

this spread almost made me change

my negative feelings about mayonnaise.

and the meatballs.

when i change a recipe from

beef or pork or lamb

to turkey,

there is always a voice

in the back of my head taunting me,

telling me that it's already ruined.

and then there's larry,

who is very good-natured about

ground turkey (probably just

happy to be getting some meat,

if i'm being honest), but who i think

also feels cheated when he sees

that a recipe planned for another meat,

especially pork.

and to top it all off,

i chose this day to take a stand against

skillet-cooked meatballs and instead,

bake them in the oven.

i was thinking disaster.

and yes, it's true that we have

no idea how they would taste with pork

or browned in sesame oil.

but, after eating the baked meatballs

made with turkey,

we really don't care.

these are little flavor-bombs,

brimming with

fresh basil,

garlic,

scallions,

fish sauce and more.

they were tiny, and if not

intended for a sandwich,

could probably all have been eaten,

one by one,

plucked straight from the baking sheet.

they were potato chip-good.

in case i haven't made it clear,

we loved, loved, loved

this home-cook's version of

banh mi. think flavorful,

without hours prepping

and crowd friendly

without new food intimidation.

or, just think: yum.

turkey meatball banh mi

adapted from bon appetit

if you start researching, you learn very quickly that banh mi enthusiasts are all adamant about one thing: if you don't have the right bread, you shouldn't even bother making it. in fact, when i asked our local vietnamese restaurant if they ever planned to add banh mi to their menu, they said that they wouldn't dare without finding the right bread vendor. the baguette should be very crunchy on the outside with a super soft interior. i have not been able to find anything like that around here. the first night, i used a type of bread called fizzle from a korean bakery around the block (this fizzle, by the way, could be a blog post of its own). it was not very crunchy, but i loved it. the next night, i used a french baguette that was very crunchy - larry preferred this one. we agreed to disagree.

and as for the changes - i've included them all below, from cutting instead of grating the veggies (i still had just about 4 cups carrots and daikon total), increasing the liquid and decreasing the sugar in the pickling, to using low-fat mayo for the spread to drizzling the (turkey-based) meatballs with sesame oil before baking, instead of browning them in the oil. i also halved the ground black pepper in the meatballs to 1/2 teaspoon - i didn't want the seasoning taking over the other flavors. and, i used pickled jalapeno instead of fresh - not traditional, but delicious. the original recipe is here.

pickled carrots and daikon

5 small-medium carrots (this is what was in the store), peeled and cut into tiny planks

1 large daikon (about 1 pound), peeled and cut into tiny planks

1 1/4 cups unseasoned rice wine vinegar

3 tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon kosher salt

in bowl, combine all ingredients, stirring well. let sit at room temperature least 2 hours, stirring occasionally.

spicy mayonnaise spread

2/3 cup low-fat mayonnaise

1 tablespoon hot chili sauce, like sriracha

3 scallions, trimmed, white and green parts thinly sliced

in bowl, stir together all ingredients. taste; add more chili sauce to taste, if desired. (i did.)

turkey meatballs

1 pound ground turkey (i used 85% lean to accommodate for the no-pork factor)

1/4 cup thinly sliced and chopped basil

4 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped

3 scallions, thinly sliced and roughly chopped

1 tablespoon fish sauce (i splashed in a tiny bit extra)

1 tablespoon hot chili sauce, like sriracha (again, i added an extra squeeze)

1 tablespoon sugar

2 teaspoons cornstarch

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1 tablespoon (or less) sesame oil

line large rimmed baking sheet with foil (coated with cooking spray) or parchment paper.

in bowl, combine all ingredients, mixing just until incorporated. using 1 tablespoon measure, form 1-inch meatballs; place on baking sheet. cover and place in fridge.

when ready:

heat oven to 375˚f. drizzle meatballs with sesame oil. bake 8 minutes. flip meatballs and bake 8-9 minutes more, or until cooked through. (at this point, i turned on the broiler and broiled them for about 2 minutes, shaking the pan once midway through, just to crisp up the exterior of the meatballs. i was glad that i added this step, but i don't know that it's necessary.)

banh mi

we really enjoy pickled jalapenos and added a bunch to the sandwiches, and even more the second night. like the cilantro, however, if you're not a fan, don't feel that you have to use these. adapt them to your taste.

4 small-medium baguettes

spicy mayonnaise spread

fresh cilantro sprigs (about 16), broken into pieces

pickled jalapeno (about 18 slices)

turkey meatballs

pickled daikon and carrots

split baguettes down the center; gently remove most of the interior from the baguette, making sure to keep the shell in tact. spread inside of bread with spicy mayonnaise. add cilantro sprigs and pickled jalapenos.

line baguettes with hot meatballs; top with pickled carrots and daikons. (i also added some cilantro leaves for color, but if i wasn't taking a picture, i'm not sure i'd bother.)