No, I'm Not Obsessive-Compulsive. Why?

I took this photo with my phone, on the dashboard of my car.  It's Ruby's lunch order.  :)

I'm quitting everything in order to devote more time to eating these sandwiches.  And now I can make one whenever I want (i.e., every five minutes) because Scott and I figured out how to make a decent Mormon-family-party facsimile of Oh Mai's heavenly sandwich, which we served at...a Mormon family party!

I know there is a whole culture surrounding banh mi, and people are very proud and particular about these sandwiches.  There are many different kinds, and they are supposed to be just so.  However, I'm from a culture that uses Campbell's Cream of Mushroom soup as a legitimate ingredient.  We're not real savvy.  So, here's what we have so far on the homemade-fake-Vietnamese-sandwich front. 

The Meat:  Move over, Cafe Rio sweet pork.  Scott browned a pork loin and put it in our new roasting pan.  (Which we LOVE.  Thanks, Marlene!)  He cooked it on 250 for 8 hours, and allowed it to get crispy on the edges before shredding it.  The sauce is a store-bought Korean barbeque sauce, and lots of it.  We put in two bottles at the beginning and two more at the end.

The bun:  We haven't found anyplace to get the light, crispy baguettes the sandwich needs.  I'm sure there is a Vietnamese bakery in Salt Lake, but that would defeat the whole purpose of making our own sandwiches so we don't have to drive so far to get one.  This time we used regular baguettes from Sam's Club and they were OK.

The veggies:  Marinate shredded carrots, shredded daikon (a radish-like veggie; Smith's has them), scallions and cucumbers in rice vinegar.  Scott and I had a little discussion about the shape of the cucumber slices.  They have to be long and thin.  Or round, depending on who you're siding with.  Add copious amounts of fresh cilantro.  The cilantro makes the sandwich.  Real banh mi don't usually have a ton of meat, but they do pile on the veggies.  They are supposed to have jalapenos or other extremely spicy peppers - don't know what they're called - but we left those out.  We also didn't do the caramelized onions, but I like them...in moderation.

The garnish:  Fresh-ground pepper and some store-bought lime vinaigrette.  I wasn't crazy about the vinaigrette, but it did have a fresh kick.  I like the special mayo they have at Oh Mai better.

There are lots of possibilities that we have never tried, like the basic original, which has cold cuts including head cheese.  I just can't do the head cheese.  Not when there's garlic ribeye and honey-glazed pork on the menu. 

So anyway, the party I mentioned was the Dopp January birthday party.  I didn't take any pictures because I left the camera at my parents' house and it was FREEZING outside!  The party was a good excuse to eat more Vietnamese sandwiches celebrate the birthdays of Michelle, Ruby, Lexie and Lilah.  Happy birthday, girls!  May you find the perfect bun lots of happiness in 2013.