This banh mi with grilled pork skewers comes out smelling of lemongrass and charcoal. The pork takes on a glossy brown color and the crunchy pickles cut through the richness.
The challenge is the heat of the grill, because the marinade contains honey and scorches easily. The pork shoulder is sliced thin, marinated for a full 25 minutes, then threaded 6 to 7 pieces to a skewer and grilled until the color is evenly brown.
This batch weighs about 1.3kg, at roughly 153 calories per 100g.
Method
Rinse and shred 1 carrot and 1 cucumber, then toss with 1/4 tablespoon salt, 1 tablespoon kOBE Monk Fruit Blend, 1 tablespoon vinegar, 1 tablespoon minced chili and 1/2 tablespoon minced garlic and leave for 15 to 20 minutes to pickle.
Rinse 500g pork shoulder, slice it thin and marinate with 1 tablespoon minced shallot, 1 tablespoon minced lemongrass, 1 tablespoon minced garlic, 1 tablespoon minced chili, 1 tablespoon minced ginger, 1/3 tablespoon ground pepper, 2 tablespoons fish sauce, 1 tablespoon cooking oil, 1 tablespoon honey, 1 tablespoon oyster sauce, 1 tablespoon of the kOBE Monk Fruit Blend mixed with unsweetened oat milk at 47 parts blend to 53 parts oat milk, 1 tablespoon white sesame seeds and 1 tablespoon nuoc mau.
Marinate the pork for 25 minutes, then thread 6 to 7 pieces onto each skewer.
Grill the skewers until the pork is evenly brown.
Split 4 banh mi baguettes lengthwise and fill with the pickles, 1 to 2 skewers of pork, chili sauce, Lean Mayo and cilantro.
Tips
Shredded pickles need time in their dressing to turn properly crunchy and balance the richness of the pork.
Honey gives the pork its glossy brown color on the grill, and since honey is still sugar, 1 tablespoon is the right measure.
Slice the pork shoulder about 3mm thick, as thicker slices burn on the outside while the center stays red.
Oat milk in place of condensed milk loosens the marinade, so 15 minutes in the fridge thickens it before it meets the pork.
Pieces threaded with their edges slightly overlapping stay juicy through the grilling.
Medium heat and regular turning keep the surface of the pork from burning.
Need the monk fruit sugar or Lean Mayo?
These two are what kOBE cooks with in the recipe above. See the product page or send us a message.