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Vegetarian Banh Mi Sandwich with Sriracha Mayonnaise

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Vegetarian banh mi with siracha mayo.

I’m sure there are those of you that have never heard of a banh mi sandwich before, am I right?  You’re probably thinking what the heck is a banh mi sandwich.  Well, I didn’t know what one was either until this past spring when my friend Carolyn showed some photos on Instagram of her fixings for a banh mi sandwich.  Since then, I’ve seen these sandwiches popping up everywhere, it’s like my eyes were opened.  Banh mi is the perfect combination of french bread combined with Vietnamese ingredients like cilantro, pickled vegetables, and chilies.  Banh mi’s can be made with chicken, pork, beef, tofu, eggs and salmon and the sauces or spreads vary with each sandwich.  I chose to make a vegetarian version with roasted tofu from my miso kale salad recipe, and a sriracha mayonnaise sauce that our family loves.  This sriracha mayonnaise is also a great dip for fries, onion rings and as a topping for burgers.

There are a lot of components to these sandwiches, but please don’t let that turn you away from making these. You can truly make most of the fixings ahead of time like the pickled veggies, the sriracha mayonnaise and even the miso roasted tofu, you can also make this sandwich using my quick and easy sautéed tofu. Then all you have to do come dinner or lunch time is cut up some of the fresh veggies and assemble the sandwiches. I’ve made this particular sandwich 3 times so far and it’s a huge hit with the family.

vegetarian banh mi sandwich with sriracha mayonnaise2

Vegetarian Banh Mi Sandwich with Sriracha Mayonnaise:

serves 4

  • 1/2 cup rice vinegar
  • 1/4 cup  water
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 1/4 cup carrot (about 1/2 of a carrot), peeled and cut into matchstick slices
  • 1/4 cup white daikon radish (about 1/2 of a radish), peeled and cut into matchstick slices – These radishes actually look like long white carrots
  • 1/4 cup thinly sliced red onion, (about 1/2 of a red onion)
  • 1/2 of a cucumber, thinly sliced
  • 1 jalapeño, thinly sliced, seeds removed if you want less spice
  • handful of cilantro sprigs
  • 1 14-ounce package extra-firm tofu, drained, pat dry
  • 2 tablespoons lemon juice
  • 2 tablespoons yellow or white miso  – I used a yellow chickpea miso
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 large baguette cut into 4 sandwich sized lengths, or 4 small french baguettes

Sriracha mayonnaise:
recipe from white on rice couple

  • 6 tablespoons mayonnaise
  • 2 tablespoons sriracha
  • 2 teaspoons lime juice
  • 1/2 teaspoon soy sauce

banh mi sandwich components

Let’s start out by pickling the carrots, radish and red onion in the vinegar. Place rice vinegar, water, and sugar in a small saucepan over medium heat.

vinegar water sugar in pot

Bring the mixture to a boil, and stir constantly using a spatula until the sugar has dissolved, about 30-60 seconds. Transfer the vinegar mixture to a bowl to cool. I set mine in the refrigerator to cool off.

vinegar mixture on stove

While the your mixture is cooling, peel and slice your carrot and radish into matchstick sized slices. I sliced my carrot and radish in half and then used my favorite newKuhn Rikon Julienne Peeler with Blade Protector, Stainless Steel Handleir?t=marmamcoo 20&l=as2&o=1&a=B0000CEWJD julienne peeler gadget from Kuhn Rikon to create the matchstick slices. It’s so much easier than manually chopping the slices yourself. I bought this gadget a month ago and I’ve used it 6 times, so it’s not a wasted gadget. Peel and slice your red onion into thin slices. Note: I was making a double batch of the pickled veggies, so that’s why you’re seeing double the veggies in the below photos.

chopped carrot radish onion cilantro

Add the carrot, radish and onion to the cooled vinegar mixture and mix well. Cover and set aside to marinate for at least 30 minutes. Drain off the excess vinegar mixture after the vegetables have marinated and you’re ready to use them. I usually make this earlier in the day.

julienned vegetables with vinegar

Now, it’s time to make up the sriracha mayonnaise. You can really make this up anytime, like when the tofu is cooking or earlier that day. Just make sure to store it in the fridge in a covered container. This mayo is super simple to make. Get out a small bowl and mix together the 6 tablespoons mayonnaise, 2 tablespoons sriracha, 2 teaspoons fresh lime juice and the 1/2 teaspoon soy sauce until well blended. That’s all there is to it.  This mayo tastes great paired on fries, onion rings and burgers.  You can just cut the recipe in half if you’re using it as a dip for fries, or onion rings.

Siracha Mayo

Fast forward to dinner time.  Let’s make up the miso tofu.  You can also skip making the miso tofu and make my quick and easy sautéed tofu. It’s totally up to you. You can also make up the miso tofu ahead of time or even the day before and just re-heat it in a 250 degree oven.

Below is a picture of miso. You can find it in the refrigerated section of your grocery store usually by where the tofu is kept. Miso is a fermented soybean paste that adds flavor to dishes such as soups, sauces and salad dressings. It’s high in protein, and rich in vitamins and minerals. It’s available in different colors, white, yellow, red & brown. If you want a milder flavor then go with yellow or white. If you want a stronger flavor then go with a red or brown miso. The lighter the color, the milder the flavor. I chose this yellow chickpea miso because I wanted a milder flavor and this version is soy-free.

Miso kale salad with miso tofu ingredients

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Coat a large rimmed baking sheet with cooking spray or brush on some olive oil. Make sure that you coat it well, because if you don’t, then the tofu will stick to the baking sheet.  I used my olive oil cooking spray.

Drain the tofu and wrap it in some paper towels and gently press out the excess moisture.  Cut the block of tofu into square cubes like the picture below.  I cut the block of tofu into 8 slices and then cut those in half to get these squares. It really doesn’t matter how you cut up your tofu, just make sure they are cut into even pieces.

Cubed tofu

Combine the 2 tablespoons lemon juice, 2 tablespoons miso and the 2 cloves minced garlic in a large bowl, and use a spatula to mix it together. It will resemble a thick paste.

Miso sauce for tofu

Add the tofu squares to the mixture and gently toss to coat.  It may not look like there is enough mixture to cover all of the tofu, but there is.

Spread the marinated tofu in a single layer on the prepared baking sheet.

Tofu on baking sheet

Bake the tofu on the middle rack, turning once during baking, until browned, about 18-20 minutes, or until the tofu is browned on both sides.

Miso tofu roasted

Meanwhile, while the tofu is cooking, you can prep the rest of the veggies. Peel and thinly slice up your cucumber, wash your cilantro, wash and slice up your jalapeño, set these aside.

Slice the baguette into 4 sandwich sized lengths.  Slice them each in half and pull the center of the bread out of the baguette halves, leaving a cavity for the filling.

Now that all of your ingredients are prepped and ready to go, we can make the sandwiches!  You can really assemble the sandwiches anyway you want.   I’ll just show you how we assembled ours below.

Take the bottom half of your bread and spread on a nice layer of the sriracha mayo. We also spread some of the sriracha mayo on the top half of the bread as well.  We really like our sriracha mayo!

sriracha mayo on baguette

Layer on some cucumber slices.

sriracha mayo and cucumber on baguette

Layer on the tofu and top it with some sriracha mayo as well (only if you want, we did and loved it).

tofu on banh mi

Top the tofu with the pickled veggies, the cilantro and sliced jalapeño.  If you don’t like things spicy, then you can omit the jalapeño.

how to make a tofu banh mi sandwich

We paired these sandwiches with some lacinato kale salad and it was the perfect meatless dinner.

vegetarian banh mi sandwich with sriracha mayonnaise3

You will have some leftover tofu, but no worries, you can top it on some of the leftover kale salad for lunch or make up a fresh batch of the miso caesar salad and make a kale caesar salad wrap.  Just top a whole-grain tortilla with the leftover kale salad, the warmed tofu and then smash an avocado on top and wrap it up.  Just re-heat the tofu in a 250 degree oven until warmed.

Kale Caesar salad wrapLove Tofu? Then you have to try my quick and easy sautéed tofu. This sautéed tofu is my new go-to recipe, as it’s quick and easy, requires just 4 simple ingredients, takes no time to sauté up, and pairs with just about everything. I also love how crispy the tofu gets when sautéed in the cast iron skillet. Quick and easy sautéed tofu.

 

My miso kale salad with miso roasted tofu is awesome.

Miso kale with roasted tofu

With love Jackie
Vegetarian banh mi with siracha mayo.
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Vegetarian Banh Mi Sandwich with Sriracha Mayonnaise

5 from 1 vote
Recipe by Jackie
Servings

4

servings

    Ingredients

    • ½ cup rice vinegar

    • ¼ cup water

    • ¼ cup sugar

    • ¼ cup carrot (about ½ of a carrot), peeled and cut into matchstick slices

    • ¼ cup white daikon radish (about ½ of a radish), peeled and cut into matchstick slices - These radishes actually look like long white carrots

    • ¼ cup thinly sliced red onion, (about ½ of a red onion)

    • ½ of a cucumber, thinly sliced

    • 1 jalapeño, thinly sliced, seeds removed if you want less spice

    • Handful of cilantro sprigs

    • 1 14-ounce package extra-firm tofu, drained, pat dry

    • 2 tablespoons lemon juice

    • 2 tablespoons yellow or white miso - I used a yellow chickpea miso

    • 2 cloves garlic, minced

    • 1 large baguette cut into 4 sandwich sized lengths or 4 small french baguettes

    • Sriracha mayonnaise:

    • 6 tablespoons mayonnaise

    • 2 tablespoons sriracha

    • 2 teaspoons lime juice

    • ½ teaspoon soy sauce

    Directions

    • Let's start out by pickling the carrots, radish and red onion in the vinegar. Place the rice vinegar, water, and sugar in a small saucepan over medium heat.

    • Bring the mixture to a boil, and stir constantly using a spatula until the sugar has dissolved, about 30-60 seconds. Transfer the vinegar mixture to a bowl to cool. I set mine in the refrigerator to cool off.

    • While the your mixture is cooling, peel and slice your carrot and radish into matchstick sized slices. I sliced my carrot and radish in half and then used my favorite new julienne peeler gadget from Kuhn Rikon to create the matchstick slices. It's so much easier than manually chopping the slices yourself. I bought this gadget a month ago and I have used it 6 times, so it's not a wasted gadget. Peel and slice your red onion into thin slices.

    • Add the carrot, radish and onion to the cooled vinegar mixture and mix well. Cover, set aside to marinate for at least 30 minutes. Drain off the excess vinegar mixture after the vegetables have marinated and you're ready to use them. I usually make this earlier in the day.

    • Now, it's time to make up the sriracha mayonnaise. You can really make this up anytime, like when the tofu is cooking or earlier that day. Just make sure to store it in the fridge in a covered container. This mayo is super simple to make. Get out a small bowl and mix together the 6 tablespoons mayonnaise, 2 tablespoons sriracha, 2 teaspoons fresh lime juice and the ½ teaspoon soy sauce until well blended. That's all there is to it. This mayo tastes great paired fries, onion rings and burgers. You can just cut the recipe in half if you're using it as a dip for fries or onion rings.

    • Fast forward to dinner time. Let's make up the miso tofu. You can also use my quick and easy sautéed tofu for this recipe. It's up to you. You can make up the miso tofu ahead of time, or even the day before and just re-heat it in a 250 degree oven.

    • Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

    • Coat a large rimmed baking sheet with cooking spray or brush on some olive oil. Make sure that you coat it well, because if you don’t, then the tofu will stick to the baking sheet. I used my olive oil cooking spray.

    • Drain the tofu and wrap it in some paper towels and gently press out the excess moisture Cut the block of tofu into square cubes like the picture below. I cut the block of tofu into 8 slices and then cut those in half to get these squares. It really doesn’t matter how you cut up your tofu, just make sure they are cut into even pieces.

    • Combine the 2 tablespoons lemon juice, 2 tablespoons miso and the 2 cloves minced garlic in a large bowl, and use a spatula to mix it together. It will resemble a thick paste.

    • Add the tofu squares to the mixture and gently toss to coat. It may not look like there is enough mixture to cover all of the tofu, but there is.

    • Spread the marinated tofu in a single layer on the prepared baking sheet.

    • Bake the tofu on the middle rack, turning once during baking, until browned, about 18-20 minutes, or until the tofu is browned on both sides.

    • Meanwhile, while the tofu is cooking, you can prep the rest of the veggies. Peel and thinly slice up your cucumber, wash your cilantro, wash and slice up your jalapeño, set these aside.

    • Slice the baguette into 4 sandwich sized lengths. Slice them each in half and pull the center of the bread out of the baguette halves, leaving a cavity for the filling.

    • Now that all of your ingredients are prepped and ready to go, we can make the sandwiches! You can really assemble the sandwiches anyway you want. I'll just show you how we assembled ours below.

    • Take the bottom half of your bread and spread on a nice layer of the sriracha mayo. We also spread some of the sriracha mayo on the top half of the bread as well. We really like our sriracha mayo!

    • Layer on some cucumber slices.

    • Layer on the tofu and top it with some sriracha mayo as well (only if you want, we did and loved it).

    • Top the tofu with the pickled veggies, the cilantro and sliced jalapeño. If you don't like things spicy, then you can omit the jalapeño.

    • We paired these sandwiches with some lacinato kale salad and it was the perfect meatless dinner.

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      29 thoughts on “Vegetarian Banh Mi Sandwich with Sriracha Mayonnaise”

        1. jackiegrandy

          Hi Kristina! You will love this sandwich and so will your hubby. It’s so full of flavor and it’s super filling 😉

          Reply
      2. Laura

        I need to order that julienne gadget asap! Look how perfect your veggies came out. That would seriously save me so much time, and probably save my finger tips too! And good to know there’s a chickpea miso out there, never thought to look for a soy-free miso and I try to be as soy free as I can. Cheers! Laura

        Reply
        1. jackiegrandy

          Hi Laura! I saw this gadget on another blog and I went out that day and bought one. I hate chopping veggies into matchstick sized pieces, so this saves a lot of time! Yes, I love this particular miso and it’s mild enough for the kids! I bought it at Whole Foods, so if you have one near you, and they don’t carry it, then just request it. Have a great day Laura 🙂 xoxo, Jackie

          Reply
      4. Kitchen Belleicious

        okay now girl this is awesome. I love the creativity you can have with the idea of the “banh mi” sandwich. like using pork or chicken or tofu, etc. and the spices alone with that sauce are making me want to run to the store right now! You can’t do that to me because I am trying to enjoy my only 30 minutes of peace before picking up the little man from mommys day out! LOL!

        Reply
      7. 2 Sisters Recipes

        Mmmm Jackie this sandwich sounds really good. I never heard of this sandwich but I bet its delicious! And, I never thought of baking Tofu and adding it to a sandwich – what a great idea! Love the mayo recipe too! Good Job!

        Reply
      8. Whitney

        I just finished printing half of the recipes on your site hahaha I can’t wait to get in the kitchen this weekend and try some of them out! What an amazing blog… thanks for sharing your yummy recipes, gorgeous pictures and healthy menu options!

        Reply
        1. jackiegrandy

          Hi Whitney! Thanks so much for your amazing comment! It made my day 🙂 I can’t wait to hear what you make up! xoxo, Jackie

          Reply
      10. Ria

        Hi! This looks delicious! Love a good banh mi! Question: would you leave the veggies in the pickling liquid if you were making this a day or two ahead of time? Just thinking of meal planning for the week and how it would be easier to make this and leave it in a mason jar ahead of time. Or would I be better off draining the liquid and the refrigerating the veggies? Thanks!

        Reply
        1. jackiegrandy

          Hi Ria! I would think that you could leave the veggies in the pickling liquid, just be sure to drain them before you use them on the sandwich. I think if you took them out of the liquid then they would loose all their flavor! I hope you enjoy the sandwiches! I think I need to make these this week as it’s going to be warm and sunny here. 🙂 xoxo, Jackie

          Reply
        1. jackiegrandy

          Yaay! I’m so happy that you loved these banh mi sandwiches. I need to make them up again soon, and yes, the tofu doesn’t taste like tofu, so that’s a bonus! xoxo, Jackie

          Reply
      12. Sheeky

        I just made this sandwich and it is incredible! The miso and garlic marinade is fantastic! I’m definitely adding this to my bag of superior recipes!

        Reply
      14. Anonymous

        Thank you for the great vegan recipe! I made these the other night and they came out just perfectly, everyone loved them!

        Reply
      15. emilyj67

        I made these tonight for guests — and they were fabulous! (Better than the ones I sometimes got in our old neighborhood.) I also made the lacinato kale salad, fresh spring rolls, (Thai) Tom Kha soup, and Vietnamese iced coffee. Totally delicious dinner!

        Reply
        1. jackiegrandy

          Awesome Emily! Your dinner sounds absoultely AMAZING! I’m so happy to hear that you loved the bahn mi sandwiches and even thought that they were better than ones you picked up near your old hood! BONUS! That’s a true compliment! I’m in total awe of the spread that you served up your guests. They’re pretty lucky! I’m also happy to hear that you made one of my FAVE kale salads! Thanks for stopping by and sharing it all with me 🙂 Have a great night Emily! xoxo Jacquelyn

          Reply
      16. Julie K.

        Oh yeah, now you’re talkin’! We love our Sriracha, too. I would make it vegan by simply subbing Vegenaise for regular mayo. Sounds perfect!

        Reply
      17. Kate

        Hi! I just stumbled upon your blog the other day and loooove the sound of these meatless recipes (so much so that I bought almost all the ingredients for the Banh Mi sandwiches, chickpea veggie burgers, quinoa wrap w/ avo-tahini sauce, lacinato kale salad, and quinoa cakes for our week’s meals). My boyfriend and I are on a huge meatless meat recipe binge (soyrizo has become a bit of an obsession). However, I have yet to use tofu because he is a little tofu-timid. My work made tofu banh mi sandwiches last week, and I just know he would like it! It’s just the two of us, so it’s sometimes difficult to use up ingredients in time. How long does the tofu last after cooking? I’m trying to plan what night I might do the miso kale salad with the leftover tofu, while trying to fit in all these other meals that I am way too overly excited to try!! Thank you and keep the great recipes coming!

        Reply
        1. jackiegrandy

          Hi Kate! Ok, you’re too adorable, seriously! I’m SO happy you stumbled on my blog and that you found some awesome recipes to try! Yippee! I hope you both love everything. You are trying some of my FAVORITE recipes! I eat that kale salad almost every day! Ok, so I usually use up my tofu within 2-3 days after making it. I’ve never let it go longer than that. I do find that a cooked block of tofu goes pretty fast. You will use at least 8 pieces on your Banh Mi sandwiches, and the rest you will most likely use on your miso salad. I use the leftover tofu instead of chicken, so I top it on my lacinato kale salad all of the time. I also use in sandwiches and make up a fresh batch of sriracha mayo, and smash up some avocado in there. It’s a pretty simple tofu recipe, so it goes with just about anything.
          Here’s a great link I found that explains the shelf life of tofu. http://www.eatbydate.com/proteins/beans-peas/how-long-does-tofu-last-shelf-life/
          I can’t wait to hear what you think of everything and to see what some of your faves are. 🙂 You’re making me crave my quinoa wrap right about now! I need something healthy, as I just made a up a batch of cookies and brownies for a catering client and I’m totally sugared out! 🙂 Keep in touch and let me know if you have any other questions Kate! xoxo, Jacquelyn

          Reply
      18. Lindsey

        This was soooooo good! My husband loved it as well! Best veggie banh mi recipe I’ve tried (and I’ve tried quite a few!). I added some aleppo chili seasoning to the tofu also while baking, for an extra little kick! Thank you for the recipe, will definitely be on my rotation.

        Reply

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      Welcome to Marin mama cooks! I’m a natural chef, as well as a mom who loves to cook up tasty and healthy whole foods for her family.
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