Banh Mi Hot Dogs

A classic American hot dog gets a Vietnamese Banh Mi twist with pickled carrots, daikon, streaky bacon mayo, and sriracha.

Eskort, a much-loved brand of processed pork products in South Africa asked me to develop an interesting hot dog recipe for an Instagram campaign. Since a Vietnamese Bahn Mi is one of my favorite sandwiches on the planet, I thought this was a perfect idea. Inspired by a famous Banh Mi I ate in Hoi An, say hello to my Bahn Mi hot dog.

Since I was working with Eskort and trying and emulate the crispy pork crackling typically found in a Banh Mi I decided to add a few slices of streaky bacon. It added amazing crunch to the hot dog along with crispy fried onions (optional).

What you need to make a Banh Mi hot dog:

Banh Mi sandwiches are easy to make and this recipe can easily be adapted. Fresh cucumber slices, pickled vegetables, fresh coriander/cilantro, mayo, and sriracha are garnishes for the sausages and crispy bacon slices.
A traditional Banh mi sandwich has chicken liver pate too, so that could be a wonderful addition.
Crispy onions & roasted salted peanuts could also be added as a topping for added crunch and flavour.
Sriracha adds heat to this hot dog, but use any chili sauce of your choice. Add fresh or pickled jalapeno if you like things very spicy. Use ketchup if you are making this for children
In Vietnam, Banh Mi’s are made from crusty baguettes that have a very soft texture from the rice flour added. I find a French baguette a little too hard for this recipe and a hot dog bun too soft. But use what you can find. Ideally, you want a bun that is slightly crunchy on the outside and soft in the middle. I always butter and fry the rolls before. This adds so much flavour.

Recipe – makes 4 Bahn Mi hotdogs

Prep Time:15

Cook Time:5

Ingredients

Pickled daikon and carrot:

1 cup boiling water
½ cup white wine vinegar or Japanese rice vinegar
1/3 cup sugar
4 tsp salt
1 cup carrot cut into the julienne thin strips
1 cup daikon cut into julienne

Hot dogs:

4 mini baguettes or hot dog rolls/buns buttered
4 Eskort Cheese grillers or Vienna sausages or any pork sausage of your choice
8 rashers of streaky bacon fried until crispy (2 per hot dog)
Slices of cucumber
Mayonnaise or kewpie Mayo
Fresh coriander
Sriracha sauce or any favourite chillie sauce
Crispy fried onions

Instructions

15Make the pickled vegetable in advance.

Mix the boiling water with the vinegar, sugar, and salt and stir until the sugar is dissolved.
Add the cut-up vegetables and toss to combine. Cover and store in the fridge until needed for a minimum of 2 - 3 hours but preferably overnight.
Split the rolls in half without cutting all the way through. It’s easier to assemble and eat this hot dog if the one side is still joined. Fry the buttered side of the roll until golden brown. Set aside.
To make the hot dogs, plunge the sausages in boiling water for 5 minutes then lightly grill/ fry until just taking on colour. Spread mayonnaise on one side then add a generous amount of drained pickled vegetables, two slices of crispy bacon, sliced cucumber, sriracha sauce, and fresh coriander.

Servings: 4

Author: Sam Linsell

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