Description
Falafel Bánh Mì is a super cool and delicious fusion of Vietnamese and Israeli cuisines. A Bánh Mì is a Vietnamese sandwich made with hollowed out toasted French bread, mayonnaise a protein (chicken or tofu usually), marinated vegetables (including carrots & daikon), cucumber, jalapeno and cilantro. By using a little bit of thinking outside the box, and making a few simple substitutions, the surprisingly and insanely delicious Falafel Bánh Mì was born.
This recipe contains portions of the Bánh Mì recipe from Allrecipes.com
Ingredients
For the Pickled Vegetables
- 1/2 cup rice vinegar
- 1/4 cup white sugar
- 1/4 cup water
- 1/2 cup matchstick-cut carrots
- 1/2 cup matchstick-cut daikon radish
- 1/2 cup green onion, cut into 1-inch pieces
For the rest of the Falafel Bánh Mì
- 2 12-inch french breads (gluten-free)
- 1/2 cup (supremely spicy) hummus
- 12 cooked falafel balls
- 1/2 English cucumber, thinly sliced
- 1 small jalapeño pepper, cut into 1/16-inch-thick matchsticks
- 1/2 cup tahini sauce (not paste)
- 2 tablespoons fresh cilantro leaves
- Sandwich picks to finish
- Additional hummus and tahini sauce for serving
Instructions
For the Pickled Vegetables
- In a small saucepan, combine the rice vinegar, sugar and water. Bring to a boil, whisking constantly until the sugar is dissolved. Allow the liquid to cool.
- Place the daikon, carrot and green onion in the liquid and allow to marinate for at least 30 minutes.
For the rest of the Falafel Bánh Mì
- Slice the two french baguettes in half lengthwise. Pull out a line of the soft center, leaving a cavity for the fillings.
- Lightly toast halves the under the broiler for 2-3 minutes.
- Drain off the excess vinegar liquid after the vegetables have marinated.
To Assemble the Falafel Bánh Mì
- Spread two bottom halves of the French bread with hummus. Place 6 falafel balls on each of the hummus spread halves.
- Top with the marinated vegetables, cucumber and jalapeño. Drizzle tahini sauce over the jalapeño then top with the cilantro.
- Cover the fillings with the tops of the baguettes, then insert two sandich picks in each of the baguettes to hold them together.
- Cut each sandwich into two 6-inch sandwiches to serve.
- Serve with extra tahini sauce and hummus.
Equipment
Hast Bread Knife – use code KED15 for 15% off
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OXO Good Grips Simple Mandoline Slicer
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Sabra Supremely Spicy Hummus, 10 Oz Tub
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Trader Joe’s Gluten Free Falafel Mix 16 Ounces – PACK OF 4
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Udis Baguette Gluten Free French, 8.4 oz (frozen)
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I used my OXO mandoline to slice and julienne the vegetables. It made the task much easier.
You can make your falafel balls from scratch or buy them ready made.
The Trader Joe’s Falafel mix contains around 3 cups of mix which makes around 32 falafel balls. I made the whole box, but you can adjust accordingly.
It’s important to note that the tahini sauce specified in the recipe is not pure tahini paste. Tahini sauce is a combination of tahini paste with additional ingredients and is used as a sauce on traditional falafel in a pita.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 6-inch Falafel Bánh Mì Sandwich
- Calories: 283
- Sugar: 14.6 g
- Sodium: 267.2 mg
- Fat: 10.8 g
- Saturated Fat: 1.5 g
- Carbohydrates: 39.2 g
- Fiber: 2.4 g
- Protein: 9.5 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
