BBQ Pork Banh Mi / Bánh Mi Xá Xíu

The last time I visited Vietnam was back in 2008, and I was staying with a relative near Ho Chi Minh City. My aunt and uncle lived on a busy street above their storefront, surrounded by other shops, restaurants, and food hawkers with push carts.
Right in front of their house was a lady selling Vietnamese sandwiches, and she only sold one type of bánh mi; a bbq pork banh mi, filled with bright red xá xíu, fresh herbs and veggies in between baguettes that she had baked earlier in the morning.
My mom actually told me that she had been selling sandwiches at this very spot for over twenty-five years, and when we lived in Vietnam, my family would buy sandwiches from her regularly.

Needless to say that, bánh mi was delicious, and the star of the show was the fragrant xá xíu. My recipe is an homage to that!

The main difference between my recipe, is the exclusion of red dye 40, and we’re using fermented red bean curd as a natural food coloring instead.

With any of my bánh mi recipes, make sure you check out my đo chua recipe to learn how to make the pickled veggies!

BBQ Pork Banh Mi / Bánh Mi Xá Xíu

5.0 from 2 votes

Servings

6

servings

Prep time

20

minutes

Cooking time

1

hour 

5

minutes

Ingredients

• 3 lbs pork butt

• 6 French baguettes

• Marinade:

• 1 tsp five spice powder

• 1 tbsp garlic powder

• 5 tbsp brown sugar

• 2 tbsp oyster sauce

• 2 tbsp soy sauce

• 2 tbsp hoisin sauce

• 1 tbsp fermented red bean curd sauce

• 1 red fermented bean curd cube

• 1 tbsp Shaoxing wine

• 2 tbsp oil

• 1/2 tsp white pepper

• 1 tbsp fish sauce (optional)

• red dye (optional)

• Glaze:

• 3 tbsp water

• 2 tbsp honey

• Garnishes:

• Butter

• Kewpie Mayo

• Maggi Seasoning

• Cilantro

• Pickled Veggies

• Jalapeno

Directions

• BBQ Pork:
• Combine five spice powder, garlic powder, brown sugar, oyster sauce, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, fermented red bean curd cube and sauce, shaoxing wine, oil and white pepper. Optionally add fish sauce and red dye. Reserve a quarter of the marinade to use as a glaze
• Cut pork butt into 2 inch thick strips, and add to the marinade
• Let the pork marinate in the fridge overnight
• Add marinated pork to a baking tray with a rack, add a couple table spoons over water to baking tray to help create steam, and prevent drippings from burning
• Bake at 400 degrees for 40 minutes, flipping halfway in between and baste with reserved marinade
• While pork is baking, combine honey and warm water to glaze the pork with
• Bring oven temperature up to 450, brush pork with glaze and bake for another 10 minutes
• Let cool for 10 minutes then slice
• Assemble
• To a French baguette, add butter, fill with sliced bbq pork, and add preferred garnishes

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