Banh Mi is a traditional Vietnamese sandwich, often with roasted pork, and a compilation of pickled radish, carrot and cucumber. I took the concept of the sandwich, and transformed it into a bowl that packs all of the flavors from this quintessential sandwich into a quick, easy and healthful weeknight dinner. The beauty of these bowls is that they can be built to please anyone, even the pickiest of eaters, everyone from vegans, to grain-free eaters can find some delicious items to build their bowl and suit their own preferences. My current favorite bowl is skinny pasta, romaine, pork, pickled vegetables and sriracha mayo drizzled over top. If you’re not a fan of ground pork you could easily substitute ground beef, chicken or turkey in this recipe. The pickled vegetables MAKE this bowl, so do yourself a favor and don’t skip them!

To make this #dinnerdoneby9am I cook the pork in the morning, as well as prep all the vegetables and sauces, then I refrigerate everything all day long, reheat the pork just prior to serving while cooking any rice or noodles to serve along with it.

Vietnamese Pork
-1 Tbsp sesame, coconut or peanut oil
-1 lb ground pork
1″ chunk ginger, peeled and minced
-4 cloves garlic, minced
-1/4 c honey or brown sugar
-1/4 c soy sauce
-1 Tbsp fish sauce
-2 Tbsp chili garlic sauce

Pickled Vegetables
-1 c white vinegar
-1/2 c sugar
-1/2 tsp salt
-2 carrots, peeled and grated
-2 jalapenos, sliced (seeds removed if you like things mild)
-1 cucumber, sliced

Bowl ingredients
-rice noodles or skinny pasta, cooked according to package directions
-rice or cauliflower rice
-romaine lettuce, chopped
-red cabbage, shredded
-avocado, sliced
-edamame
-scallions
-cilantro, mint and/ or basil
-peanuts, chopped
-Sriracha sauce
–Ginger Peanut Dressing
–Sriracha Mayo

To make pickled vegetables, combine vinegar and sugar in a small pot. Bring to a boil, stir, and simmer until sugar is dissolved. Place carrots in a heat-proof dish and pour vinegar over top. Allow to cool to room temperature, then stir in sliced cucumbers and jalapenos and refrigerate until serving (at least 30 minutes).

While the vegetables are pickling, heat oil in a large skillet, add pork and ginger. Cooking, breaking up with a wooden spoon, until pork is cooked through. Add garlic, cook 1 additional minute, stirring constantly. Add honey or sugar, soy sauce, fish sauce and chili garlic sauce, cook 5 additional minutes, stirring intermittently, then remove from heat.

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