Lemongrass Tofu Banh Mi

 My friend Terence gave me a 3 lemongrass shoots that he wanted to find a home for.  John planted them in the garden and sure enough, they rooted and are now flourishing in the warm Maui weather.  I never cooked with lemongrass before.  Not until John pointed out that we had some in our yard!It’s a very nondescript type of grass with razor-sharp leaves, but don’t let that fool you. The lemongrass stalks have a wonderful fragrant citrus scent and can be used in all types of recipes.  It works perfectly in this tofu recipe for banh mi.

This handy tofu press saves you from wasting paper towels.  The TofuXpress is one of the best little kitchen gadgets I’ve bought in the last few years.  Tofu is quickly marinated and pan-fried until crispy on both sides.  The scent of the lemongrass, garlic, soy sauce and sesame oil is mouth-watering.

Light and crunchy baguette with lemongrass tofu, thinly sliced cucumber, carrot and daikon pickles (do chua) and lots of cilantro. It’s one of my favorite sandwiches.  Do chua can be made in advance and stored in the refrigerator.  I picked up two fresh baguettes at our local Vietnamese restaurant/bakery.  John’s next experiment, homemade bahn mi.

Lemongrass Tofu Banh Mi

Adapted from theKitchn blog

Serves 2

Ingredients

14 ounce package extra firm tofu, pressed and cut into 10 slices (Wildwood Organic is a good brand to use.  House Foods extra firm is not firm enough).

3 tablespoons soy sauce

2 1/2  teaspoons sesame oil

1 tablespoon canola oil

2 tablespoons minced lemongrass (about 3 bulbs)

2 medium cloves garlic, minced

2 baguettes

cilantro

do chua pickles

sliced cucumbers, Japanese or English hothouse or other types with fewer seeds  (for very thin slices I use my Benriner and slice lengthwise to make long narrow strips)

Spread

2 tablespoons mayonnaise

1 teaspoon sriracha hot sauce

Preparation

Combine soy sauce, sesame oil, canola oil, lemongrass and garlic in a small bowl.

In a shallow dish place tofu slices in a single layer.  Pour sauce over tofu, turning pieces to coat well.  Let tofu absorb all of the marinade, turning and patting the lemongrass and garlic on each slice.  Cook tofu in a skillet over medium heat until brown and crisp on each side (about 8 minutes on the first side and 5 minutes or longer on the second side).

Prepare your banh mi.  Mix 2 tablespoons mayonnaise with 1 teaspoon sriracha.  Slather on both sides of the baguette.  Layer with tofu, sliced cucumber, do chua pickles, cilantro. Drizzle sriracha sauce on the tofu if you want to add a little extra spiciness to the sandwich, or add thinly sliced jalapeños.

***For vegan version use Vegenaise mayonnaise.