The Nation Has An Appetite

Bành mí từ Wisconsin

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Last Friday I went up to Minneapolis to meet with my friend K, who was treating my brothers and me to a Twins game. We stayed for all thirteen innings, easily the longest game I've attended in some years. It was really nice talking with K, who grew up with Pops Hayes and remained good friends right up until Pops' passing.

As great as it was to see the Twins beat the Astros in a slap fight, the food I ate on Friday and Saturday was far better. Friday lunch was a Jucy Lucy and Grain Belt at Matt's. Friday supper was pot roast and a fantastic Arnold Palmer at Modern Cafe. Saturday breakfast with my Uncle Sam was the Hippie Pancakes, hashbrowns, and coffee at Hazel's Northeast. And Saturday lunch was bành mí and iced coffee at Pho Tau Bay on Eat Street with a cousin.

So, when Mrs. Hayes mentioned wanting sandwiches on crusty bread for supper last night, you can see where my thinking was headed - bành mí từ Wisconsin (Wisconsin bành mí). Or, at least what I figure might be a reasonable attempt at such a dish.

Bành mí từ Wisconsin

Find the best French bread you can. We got some okay stuff from the supermarket because our favorite bakery was likely already out, but the next time I make this, we're doing it with a properly crusty baguette.

For the pickled vegetables I used carrots and jicama, which was what was in the house. Traditional bành mí uses carrot and daikon; I suppose to make this truly a Wisconsin sandwich I should have used rutabagas or turnips, but it's not autumn yet.

Pickled vegetables:

  • 2 carrots
  • 1/4 jicama root
  • 8 oz (1 cup) rice wine vinegar
  • 2 Tbsp sugar
  • 1 tsp salt

Peel the vegetables and julienne them (cut into thin matchsticks). Place them lengthwise into a canning jar, add the sugar and salt, and finally the rice wine vinegar. Place the lid on the jar (tightly!) and shake to combine the liquid. To avoid settling, repeat the shaking several times during prep of other items.

Chicken:

  • 4 chicken breasts, or a couple pounds of chicken "tenderloins"
  • 1/4 cup soy sauce
  • 2 Tbsp fish sauce
  • 1 Tbsp sugar
  • 6 garlic cloves
  • 2 tsp five spice powder

Add the sauces, sugar, cloves, and five spice powder in a bowl and whisk to combine. Place chicken into your favorite marinading vessel (I like freezer bags with all the air squeezed out), pour in the marinade, and let the chicken sit for as long as you can stand (a half-hour is fine, an hour is better). Place on a foiled baking sheet, and broil for 4-6 minutes per side, depending on the size of the breasts. If using breasts, let them rest a few minutes before slicing into sandwich-sized pieces.

Sriracha-Lime Mayo:

  • 1/4 cup mayonnaise
  • 1 lime, juiced
  • Sriracha to taste

Combine ingredients in a bowl, whisk to emulsify.

Other ingredients:

  • baguette, sliced into sandwich-sized chunks
  • liverwurst
  • 2 jalapenos, sliced thin
  • 3/4 cup fresh cilantro
  • 1 cucumber, sliced thicker than the jalapenos (1/4" thick is great)

When the chicken is ready for the sandwich, spread the bottom of the baguette with liverwurst, as thick as you like. Since it's an essential flavor component, I go fairly thick, just to make sure. The top of the baguette is slathered with the sriracha-lime mayo. Place the chicken on the liverwurst, the cucumber on the chicken. The jalapenos go on the mayo, and pickled veg get wedged into the hinge/crease between the top and bottom of the sandwich. Load whatever room is left with cilantro.

As for beverage recommendations, I'm sure you can figure out something appropriate – Vietnamese iced coffee, Thai iced tea, or perhaps a cold bottle of ginger beer. Regular beer works, too.

41 thoughts on “Bành mí từ Wisconsin”

  1. ooooh, thanks for this ch, it looks delicious. Definitely gonna give this a try soon.

      1. I'll admit, I've not purchased liverwurst around here. When I get meat in Madison, I typically get it at Ken's in Monona or Fraboni's.

        1. Those are the two places I typically go, too. Sometimes I hit Jim's Meats on the north side, but I don't get up that way too often. The liverwurst comes from the grocery store, however.

          1. In that case, I will probably check Shnuck's in Janesville for it. A neighbor recently highly recommended it as a reasonably priced Whole Foods type place.

            1. Schnuck's? The grocery chain? Or is this something different?

              The Schnuck's in Chambana was pretty good, but not very Whole Foods-ie, IIRC. Maybe the chain has gone even further upscale?

                1. Okay, now I'm curious about this. I have a fascination with the spread of regional grocery store chains; we had a Randall's in Winona at one time, but eventually it went under after a strike (which Mutti Hayes participated in) and stiff competition from Econo and Midtown (which was IGA at the time, I believe). One of the things I've always enjoyed about living in different areas is experiencing new grocery stores. Well, except Woodman's.

                  1. I worked at Randall's in NU. When I was young it was a Madsen's. It closed a few years after I left for college, when the chain got bought out by the same company that owns Ca$h Wi$e (where my mother worked briefly). NU already had a Ca$h Wi$e, so they merged staffs and closed Randall's. NU also still has a Hy Vee, and I'm guessing that the new (outskirts, land annexed by the city) Wal*Mart kindof fills the place for the third Grocery. There was also a Red Owl when I was very young, but it was a smaller store.

                    I dunno about the Randall's Winona, but the NU one was like 3/4 grocery, 1/12 Shopko, 1/6 Fleet Farm. They sold guns and ammo and licenses and LPs and cassettes and CDs and keys and auto parts and paint and chains and ropes by length and baseballs and modelling sets and cutlery. The place was wonderful, and I knew that well before I worked there. Then I got to go into the breakroom in the basement all ashtrays and toaster ovens. When I worked weekends, my first break was two fried rolls (or one strawberry & cream cheese croissant), and a Mountain Dew from the breakroom vending machine. Came to an even dollar.

                    Smoked my first cigar down in the breakroom, nearly passed out coughing.

  2. "it’s an essential flavor component"

    Is this 'cause it's WI bahn mi? All of my cheese-eating buddies love liverwurst/braunschweiger, but I wouldn't even know where to get it in the Twin Cities. Will have to investigate.

    Love the Sriracha-Lime Mayo. That's brilliant.

    1. Love the Sriracha-Lime Mayo.

      Just used this for a teriyaki salmon/rice dish that my wife made. It was fantastic.

      Leftover Sriracha mayo is going to be used for bulgogi burgers tonight. Even better.

        1. Yeah, I immediately went to look for a bulgogi recipe upon seeing his LTE. It might be an Asian sort of weekend in the cheaptoy house.

    2. I can't help you on where to find it up there, unfortunately, but figuring you'll have some left over after the bành mí, be sure to pick up some pretzel rolls and good brown mustard for liverwurst sandwiches, too.

      1. You're killing me, CH. The granola bar I just ate to tide me over till dinner feels so inadequate now.

        1. If you like granola, Walt, get over to Hazel's for the Hippie Pancakes - granola-infused 'cakes topped with a mixed-berry compote, whipped cream, and candied ginger.

          1. Nah. I'm sure they are delicious, but I'm more of a savory guy, especially at breakfast. If I were at Hazel's, I'd be all over the Jean's Mean Fried Egg Sandwich. Or the Sunrise Omelette. Tough call.

            Actual conversation at the UW house last night at 8:30:
            Wife: Wait. You went to the grocery store and bought two things: Swedish Rye and braunschweiger?
            Me: Yes.
            Wife: You're funny.

            To make a short story long, we have Nueske's at the Lund's in Highland, but it's relabeled smoked liver pate. It's shelved right next to the braunschweiger options, so I think it's the same thing. There's no reference to pate on the Nueske's website. Are the goofs in Highland Park more likely to buy braunschweiger if it's called smoked liver pate? I think we are.

            1. They sell Nueske's "smoked liver pate" here, too, so I'm guessing Highland Park and Madison have something in common as far as meat paste purveyors are concerned.

  3. On the NBB Chopped scale 12.6:
    Creativity = 4.3
    Presentation = 4.2
    Taste = if only I could - I'm guessing the sriracha/liverwurst/fish sauce/cilantro combo would cause my tastebuds to asplode = 4.1

    1. Thanks, NBB. I've come to understand that the crisp, mild heat of the jalapeño and the briny sweetness of the pickled veg are the essential ingredients of good bánh mí. Without them, you get no reprieve from some really intense flavors.

  4. I would never, ever have thought to put liverwurst on a bánh mí.. Great stuff, CH.

    Now for my liverwurst/braunschweiger rant. I grew up on Hormel braunschweiger (on pumpernickel with grainy mustard, raw onion and a slice or two of cheddar or swiss, because, you know, not enough animal fat in the braunschweiger). Best. braunschweiger. Evah!

    Unfortunately, those days are gone, because the production process has changed. They used to make the braunschweiger exclusively in Spamtown, using fresh livers from freshly-slaughtered hogs. I know these things. My dad's best friend was The Weenie Master, and was well-versed in how they made various products. Fresh livers made all the difference in proper braunschweiger.

    My recollection is that they don't do the hog kill at the plant anymore (too labor-intensive; part of the strike back in the 1980s was about Hormel's desire to two-tier the wage structure so that the low-skill functions like the hog kill were on a different pay scale than the high-skill functions like boning out a ham), so they don't have the uber-fresh livers anymore. Boo.

    Even so, Hormel braunschweiger is still a great product. I just can't find it out west.

    1. bS - this rant is funny. Both grandpas spent a career at the plant so my folks grew up on Hormel products. About the only things they seem to recall with any enthusiasm are Cure '81 and Black Label. The funny part is, if it has Hormel on the label, I've gone out of my way to try it, probably out of some sense of obligation, and I really like the current iteration of braunschweiger. Spam...well, Spam is Spam.

        1. also, respect for Wrangler dogs.

          I also ate a lot of Dinty Moore as a kid. I would not recommend it to adults.

          1. I did too and went back for a sample last year...I whole-heartedly agree with your sentiment.

        2. Oh yeah - other than you natives, I can likely claim more time spent in those fair environs than anyone else here.

          You did know, but it's been a while since we had that discussion - since back before I even had my corn face...started visiting the old basement fronting this guy which prompted some excitement from you Big9 types (but I can't remember why).

          My folks are both older than you (Pacelli and Austin class of '69) and, though both attended ACC at one time or another, did not seem to recognize your name or your pops. Never got around to asking my mom's younger siblings about it.

          1. Shoot, I'd almost forgotten you originally had the hockey Saints userpic. Would be pretty cool to have a "WGOM Mugshots" post on the various userpics folks have favored over the years. If only there were someone here who used to do features on Twins mugshots...

    2. Thanks, Doc. The liverwurst thing was kind of serendipitous.

      I believe they still do kills at the Hormel plant, or in another facility nearby, anyway. If it's nearby, then perhaps that explains the change in braunschweiger production. I don't know if the company was part of Hormel, or a contractor, but I remember reading a Mother Jones article a couple years back about illnesses contracted by workers in the cut-and-kill plant which (unfortunately) put me off Hormel products forever. It's tough, because that was often the stuff we bought growing up.

      1. CH - all this Spamtown talk reminds me. You've got mail at detlef...I can't tell you enough how much I'm enjoying them.

          1. I get excited about Appetite posts - they really should have a proper category instead of just a tag - so I'm happy to contribute when I can.

            I'll check the email. Glad to hear you've been enjoying DWP. Read a few poems for the first time at a reading last night and got a pretty solid reception, which was nice.

  5. corn - you are right, we'd had that discussion before. just forgotted.

    CH - I am not opposed to upgrading to a stand-alone category. I went with a tag and the "miscellany" category originally in the wake of the Boss making some comments about trying to limit category proliferation. but I think we have a legit case for an upgrade.

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