Meatless Meatball Banh Mi

So Mr Humble decided he wanted to eat fewer critters as part of his new years resolution (perfectly fine by me, as he has always been the carnivore of the two of us). So, I'm finding ways to modify some of his favorite dishes. Lunch today is a spin on meatball banh mi, pescetarian style (since the fish sauce prevents it from being vegetarian. Though you could substitute it with a little light soy sauce, if you must do without).

Rather than using a meat substitute, which I am generally not a fan off, I went for chick peas, bread crumbs and spices to make my 'meatballs'. Sort of a Vietnamese play on falafel. I baked up fresh rice flour baguettes, stuffed them with my meatballs, cilantro, shredded carrots, daikon radish and my special sauce.

The result... deliciousness.



Not so Humble's Meatless Meatball Banh Mi:
makes roughly 25 'meatballs'
2 15oz cans of chickpeas drained
3 tablespoons chopped thai basil
3 tablespoons chopped cilantro
5 cloves garlic
2 thai chilies
2 green onions chopped
1 tablespoon sriracha chili sauce
1-2 teaspoons fish sauce (Nam Pla)
2 large eggs
1 cup plain bread crumbs
chick pea flour

cilantro
carrot shredded
daikon shredded

Combine the chickpeas, basil, cilantro, garlic, chilies, white portion of the green onion, chili and fish sauce into a food processor and blend for about 30 seconds until well blended but still slightly chunky. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and blend in the eggs. Pour the mixture into a bowl and stir in the remaining chopped green onions. Add the bread crumbs and mix well.

Using your hands, form the mixture into one 1 1/2" meatballs and roll in chickpea flour. Bake in a 350 for 15-20 minutes turning once. You can also flatten the balls and pan fry each side in vegetable or peanut oil over medium high heat until golden brown.

Place the meatballs into a baguette with fresh cilantro, shredded carrot and daikon radish and a generous amount of the following:

Special Humble Sauce:
1 cup mayonnaise
3 green onions, finely chopped
4 teaspoons sriracha chili sauce
few drops fish sauce (Nam Pla)

If you are feeling ambitious, you can make your own fresh crusty banh mi baguettes, too...



Simple Banh Mi Baguettes:
makes 6 medium sized baguettes
2 3/4 cups bread flour
1 cup rice flour
1 teaspoon sugar
15 grams dry active yeast (two 1/4 oz packets)
1 1/2 cups warm water (100°F)
2 teaspoons kosher salt

In a bowl, combine the warm water with the yeast and sugar and allow to sit for 5 minutes. While waiting on that, sift together the flours and salt.

Add the yeast to your stand mixer with the paddle attachment and slowly add the flour on medium low speed. Once combined switch out the paddle for your dough hook and kneed on medium speed for 5 minutes until smooth and elastic.

Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl, cover and allow to rise for 2 hours, or until doubled. Punch down the dough and divide into 6 equal portions. Shape each piece into a slender almond shaped baguette and place on baking sheet. Leave enough room between baguettes for the dough to rise. Cover the baguettes lightly and allow to rise for two hours or until doubled in size.

Preheat oven to 420 degrees. Slash baguettes with a razor or sharp knife and bake for 20-30 minutes until golden brown.



Oh, and if you're wondering why I'm posting Vietnamese sandwiches and not science cookies, patience! Cookies take time.