Glazed Tofu Banh Mi Sandwich

Wow. There is so much flavor going on here. The glazed tofu has a beautifully crispy, savory crust, the pickled veggies are pungent, the fresh cucumbers and radishes give it a brightness and the sweet chile mayo adds just the heat this sandwich needs. Think you don’t like tofu? Try it this way. Just once. For me.

Ingredients (makes 4 sandwiches):

For the pickled vegetables:

½ cup rice wine vinegar

1 Tablespoon granulated sugar

Fresh cracked black pepper to taste

Pinch of salt

1 cup shredded carrots

1 cup thinly sliced onions

½ cup shredded cabbage

For the tofu:

3 Tablespoons hoisin sauce

2 teaspoons soy sauce

Few drops of toasted sesame oil

2 teaspoons canola oil

1 (8 ounce) package extra firm tofu, drained between several layers of paper towels

For the sauce:

½ cup mayonnaise

2 Tablespoons Thai sweet chile sauce

Other components:

1 baguette, cut into 4 pieces horizontally (or 2 demi baguettes, each cut in half)

16 thin slices of cucumber

12 thin slices of radish

4 lime wedges

Directions:

Pickled Vegetables: Heat the rice wine vinegar, sugar, salt and pepper in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil and turn off the heat. Let cool until the pickling juice is room temperature and then pour it over the carrots, onions and cabbage in a non-reactive (i.e., glass or food safe plastic bowl). Refrigerate at least 1 hour.

Tofu: Mix the hoisin, soy and sesame oil in a small bowl. Heat the canola oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Cut the tofu into 16 slices (start by going once lengthwise and then cut ¼ slices down the block-each piece should be about 2 inches long and ¼ inch thick). Working in two batches, pat each piece of tofu dry with a paper towel and then add 8 of the slices to the skillet. Cook until the bottom becomes golden (about 4-5 minutes) then flip. Brush the top of each slice of tofu with some of the hoisin mixture and cook for 4-5 more minutes. Flip again and brush the other side of the tofu slices with the hoisin mixture and cook for 2-3 more minutes. Flip once more, cook 2-3 minutes and then remove to a plate. Repeat with the remaining tofu, adding a touch more oil if you need to.

Sauce: Stir together the mayo and sweet chile sauce. Refrigerate until needed.

Assembly: Slice the baguette pieces in half like a sandwich roll. Pull out a little bit of the bread from the insides of each piece and discard. Place some of the pickled veggies (slightly drained) onto one side of the sandwich and top with 4 tofu slices. Top that with a little more pickled veggies, 4 cucumber slices and 3 radish slices. Spread sauce on the top piece of bread. Squirt some lime juice over the radishes and close the sandwich up.