With my pickled carrots and daikon radish made I was ready to move onto making the banh mi sandwiches. A Bánh mì sandwich is a Vietnamese sandwich typically consisting of the pickles, cucumbers, cilantro, chilies, pâté, mayonnaise and a meat all wrapped up in a baguette made from both wheat and rice flour. Other than skipping the pate and using an all wheat baguette, I wanted to keep my sandwiches as traditional as possible which meant that the only real decision left was what meat to use. Well, that wasn’t much of a decision either given that it was a shrimp sandwich what inspired me to make the banh mi sandwiches in the first place and I was still craving that shrimp sandwich! Of course, I could not simply saute or grill some shrimp and throw them into the sandwich because I would be missing out on the opportunity to add some flavour and I knew just how I wanted to do it. I am a huge fan of savoury Vietnamese caramel dishes and one of my favorites is the Vietnamese caramel shrimp, or tom rim , and I figured that the sweet and salty caramel shrimp would be perfect in the banh mi sandwich.
The banhmi sandwiches are pretty easy to make once you have the pickles ready and all you really need to do is quickly cook the shrimp and assemble the sandwiches. You just have to like it when something so easy to make is so wonderfully good! The flavour combinations in the banh mi sandwiches are simply amazing! The succulent, sweet and salty shrimp were delightful with the creamy mayo and both went well with the tangy pickles. The juicy cucumbers cleansed your palate in between bites leaving you ready for more and the cilantro added a particularly nice freshness reminding you of summer and really taking the sandwich home. The only problem that I had with these sandwiches was trying to resist having seconds right away! 🙂
Vietnamese Caramel Shrimp Banh Mi
ingredients
- 1 baguette (cut into 4 sandwich sized lengths and sliced in half)
- 4 tablespoons mayonnaise
- 1 pound caramelized shrimp (see below)
- 1/4 cup pickled daikon radish
- 1/4 cup pickled carrots
- 1/2 cup cucumber (thinly sliced)
- 1/2 cup cilantro (loosely packed)
- 2 birds eye chilies (sliced, optional)
- soy sauce to taste
directions
- Assemble sandwiches and enjoy.
Vietnamese Caramel Shrimp
ingredients
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 2 tablespoons water
- 2 tablespoons water
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 1 shallot (finely diced)
- 2 cloves garlic (chopped)
- 1 pound shrimp (peeled and deviened)
- 1 tablespoon fish sauce
- pepper to taste
directions
- Heat the sugar and water in a pan on medium-high heat until it caramelizes and turns a dark brown.
- Carefully add the water and heat until the caramel dissolves.
- Remove from heat and set aside.
- Heat the oil in a pan.
- Add the shallot and garlic and saute for 3-5 minutes.
- Add the shrimp, caramel sauce, fish sauce and pepper and cook until the shrimp is pink all over, about 2-3 minutes.
Vietnamese BBQ Pulled Pork Banh Mi
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Spicy Peanut Shrimp Sandwich with Thai Style Slaw
Vietnamese Caramel Shrimp (Tom Rim)
Fried Green Tomato and Shrimp Remoulade Po Boy
Pickled Green Tomato and Shrimp Remoulade Po Boy
Spicy Pork Bulgogi Banh Mi
Banh Mi Burgers with Vietnamese Caramel BBQ Sauce
Vietnamese Caramel Salmon Banh Mi
Banh Mi Chicken Salad
Banh Mi Grilled Cheese
Lemongrass Chicken Banh Mi Paratha Tacos
Do you have a recipe for Vietnamese Curried Mock Duck? I love the stuff they have at the Lotus restaurant in Minneapolis, MN but can't find a recipe that tastes like it. It has curry paste, mock duck, coconut milk.
That is one awesome looking sandwich!
..caramel chicken is amazing so shrimp must be even better…you make it look so easy..
Once again, guy! Just toooooo big to take a bite of. To be like your 'foodies', 'sounds yummy!!!
Wow! That looks absolutely delicious!
Kevin, when I saw the name of this post in my feed, I fell on the floor. After I picked myself up, I saw the picture and fell on the floor again. This looks jaw-droppingly delicious. You are awesome.
oh delicious! 🙂 well done!
Beautiful blog …Love your recipes!
I LOVE banh mi! I've never thought of using shrimp in it but it looks amazing!
Çok iştah açıcı ve leziz olmuş. Ellerinize,emeğinize sağlık.
Saygılar.
A fabulous sandwich! Irresistible!
Cheers,
Rosa
Que sandwich, esta riquísimo esta combinación de sabores.
Saludos
Un prelibato panino !!
Wow, awesome.
I love your version, must make it next time with prawns.
Wishing you a great weekend ♥
Banh mi is one of my favorite foods in the world! I love your version, I never thought of making it with shrimp, but it sounds delicious and lighter than the usual pork sandwich!
Vietnamese caramel dishes really are tasty! This is one sandwich I would love to sit down to.
I would not have been into this, but your pictures make it look absolutely delightful!
Becca
I love all the wonderful flavors you combined in this scrumptious sandwich. Caramelized shrimp and picked veggies…delish.
I wouldn't even need pate if I were eating this! =)
That looks delicious!! I do not usually go for the shrimp on my sandwiches. The Vietnamese sandwich place I go to makes this delectable lemongrass beef sandwich. That picture of your sandwich, however, has me thinking I need to try something different! Lovely.
I am a sucker for Banh Mi! I can't pass it by on the menu. We have some FABULOUS hole in the walls here in Seattle so I am blessed. I always get pork however. Now I am thinking shrimp is on my next sandwich! Looks fantastic.
Hey Kevin, when I saw the word 'Banh Mi' in my dashboard, I had to take a look at this. Beautiful! And I love that you used caramel shrimp dish-that sounds so nice right now. I would have definitely had seconds…
Oh my. I think you really need to put out a cookbook; I'd buy it in a heartbeat. You are so ridiculously inventive and creative with food!
This is my kind of sandwich! I admire the creativity and thought process reflected in all your recipes, including this excellent one.
WOWWWW..Delicious!!!
Gorgeous picture! The caramel shrimp sound divine.
Your pictures alone are amazing not to mention the recipe is definitley worth trying! Thank you for sharing!
GourmetGlitterati.com
I doubt I will get the whole thing put together but who cares? Caramelized shrimp? Looks beautiful and sounds delicious! I am so doing this. Tonight.
Kevin, you are killing me with pleasure! 🙂
What a sandwich! The shrimp look perfect, I could really go for a sandwich like this!
I have to agree with Recipe for Delicious; I had to take a moment before even reading this post. So amazing!
I haven't gotten to try Banh Mi yet because I don't cook meat and no restaurants near me carry them. But shrimp are definitely going on next weeks shopping list.
Thanks!
hi, your recipe inspired me to make lemongrass chicken banh mi yesteday, and with the leftover picked veggies I made this shrimp one tonight. The shrimp was very tasty this way, thanks!
The food looks so good,
Now I only need to worry about how to fit that banh mi in my mouth!
That looks like the Rolls Royce of all sandwiches…
Looks AH-MAZING! Can't wait to try! I am confident in saying Banh Mi is my favorite sandwich of all time.
The photography is great! Making my mouth water just looking at the food photos. Thanks for the recipe!
The recipe is really something so interesting. I would love to try this one. Looks so delish!
Let me see… what can I say…. WOW! So delicious!!! Can't get enough of it!!
I liked your recipe.. Thanks for sharing