Eggplant Bahn Mi with Ginger mayo

When I made this recipe I never actually had a Bahn mi sandwich but often saw them on food pages and I craved the flavor profile. So one day I decided to make one of my own. If you aren’t an eggplant fan you can substitute with chicken or shrimp. But one thing you can not substitute is this ginger mayo. Oh My it’s sooooo delicious. It might become your new favorite sammy sauce.

This should make about two sandwiches.

Pickled veggies:

- You can use cucumbers, daikon radish, carrots, zucchini, red onion, squash. It’s all preference. I used carrots, red onion & zucchini.

- Red onion - 1/3 sliced thin

- Zucchini - 1 medium sliced thin

- Carrots - 1 medium sliced thin

- Warm water - 1 cup

- Vinegar : You can use white, rice, apple cider - 1/2 cup

- White sugar - 2 tbsp

- * For extra spice you can add pickled jalapeños and a tsp of the juice from the jar

• Match stick your vegetables - long thin strips

• Add your pickling oil

• Put in fridge at least one hour before & up to overnight for best flavor - The longer the better

Spicy ginger mayo:

- Mayo: 2 tbsp

- Vinegar: 1 tsp

- White sugar: 1 tsp

- Ground ginger: 1 tsp

- Paprika: 1 tsp

- Garlic powder: 1 tsp

- Sriracha: 2 tsp

- Mix , taste & add more spices to your liking

- Store in fridge until ready to use

Asian eggplant:

-Eggplant: 2 small or 1 large , I like to use white or Asian eggplant

-Teriyaki sauce: 1/2 cup

-Mirin: 1 tbsp (mirin can be found in the international or Asian aisle at your local grocery store.)

-Sesame oil: 1/2 tsp

-Oyster sauce: 1 tsp (If you don’t have it you can omit this part, but this can be found in international or Asian aisle)

-Garlic powder: 1 tbsp

-Onion powder: 1 tbsp

• Slice eggplant into about 1/2 inch slices

• Marinate 10 minutes per side

• Once marinated shake off excess sauce, avoiding the burn

• Use a grill pan or grill & cook 5 minutes per side on medium low heat

Assemble:

- Slice bread in half & slightly toast ; A nice big baguette or seeded roll works best

- Spread ginger mayo on bottom half

- Top with eggplant

- Top with pickled veggies

• If you don’t want it open faced just add some more ginger mayo on that other slice and top it