Banh Mi is a traditional Vietnamese sandwich, often with lemongrass flavored pork, and a compilation of pickled radish, carrot and cucumber. I took the concept of the sandwich, and transformed it into a noodle bowl that packs all of the flavors from this quintessential sandwich. When I don’t have lemongrass on hand I omit it and stir a few drops of lemongrass essential oil into the pork just before serving.

To make this #dinnerdoneby9am I put the pork in the slow cooker in the morning, then shred once it is cooked through, keeping warm until serving. I also assemble the dressing and prep all the vegetables and toppings in the morning, refrigerate all day, and just cook the noodles and set everything out when it’s time to eat.

Slow Cooker Vietnamese Pork
-1″ chunk ginger, peeled and minced
-4 cloves garlic, minced
-1 stalk lemongrass, peeled
-1/4 c honey or brown sugar
-1/4 c soy sauce
-2 Tbsp fish sauce
-2 Tbsp chili garlic sauce
-2 lb pork loin roast, trimmed of fat

Sweet Chili Dressing
-1 c sweet chili sauce (store-bought or homemade)
-juice of 1 lime
-1 Tbsp fish sauce
-1/4 c rice vinegar

Pickled Vegetables
-1/2 c white vinegar
-1/2 c water
-1/4 c sugar
-1/2 tsp salt
-1/8 tsp red pepper flakes
-2 carrots, peeled and grated
-4 radishes, cut into matchsticks
-1/2 cucumber, seeded, cut into matchsticks

Other bowl ingredients
-rice noodles, cooked according to package directions
-lettuce, thinly sliced
-red cabbage, shredded
-scallions
-cilantro, mint and/ or basil
-peanuts, chopped
-Sriracha sauce

In a greased slow cooker, stir together the ginger through chili garlic sauce. Add the pork, turning to coat. Cook on low, 6-8 hours, until meat shreds easily with 2 forks. Shred meat in slow cooker, then keep warm until serving.

To make dressing, whisk dressing ingredients together, then chill until serving.

To make pickled vegetables, combine vinegar through red pepper flakes in a small pot. Bring to a boil, stir, and simmer until sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat and cool. Once the vinegar mixture is room temperature, pour it over the carrots, radishes and cucumbers and refrigerate until serving (at least 1 hour).

At serving time, set up a bar with all of your ingredients and let everyone build their own bowl.