Photo by Renee Comet
Renee’s website looks beautiful. Mine is due for an update and that will be happening this fall. Bout time and I’m excited for a new look.
This beef banh mi is from Australian Meat and Livestock. It not only looked amazing, but it tasted delicious – typically not a priority and a major perk for a stylist. Thank you Chef Roy Villacrusis.
The Australians with whom we work always impress me. The stereotypes – those with which I am familiar – apply. Hooray. The Australians I know – only stateside – are fun-loving, hard-working, no-nonsense, unpretentious and know how to eat. What’s not to like? Nuttin.
Australian friends turned me on to an essential food friend – KEWPIE MAYONNAISE. How could I not know about this??? Totes adorbs and the top has a star opening that squeezes out ridged ribbons of unctuous tart mayo onto your food. Sandwiches, salads, cold meats, pizza if you are in Sweden. OH, you just want to SQUEEEEEZE it!!
Chef Roy Villacrusis Grassfed Beef Banh Mi
Servings 4
French colonists left the Vietnamese with a taste for baguettes and pâté for their sandwiches—known as banh mi. Chef Villacrusis uses Aussie grassfed steak with the surprise addition of brie cheese. Pickled vegetables and sliced jalapeños add the traditional zing.
Portion size: 1 sandwich
Alternate cuts: Ribeye
Ingredients:
1 pound Aussie grassfed strip steak
Kosher salt and black pepper as desired
1/4 cup shredded carrot
1/4 cup shredded daikon
1/4 cup thinly sliced bell pepper
1 cup rice wine vinegar
Four each 6″ french baguettes, sliced lengthwise
1 cup prepared liver pâté
12 thin slices of brie cheese
1/2 cup fresh red ribbon sorrel leaves
1/2 cup fresh cilantro leaves
1/4 cup seeded, sliced jalapeños
1/2 cup Kewpie mayonnaise
Salt and pepper to taste
Method:
For the steak: preheat a grill over MEDIUM-HIGH heat. Season strip steak with salt and pepper, then cook to medium rare—about 4 minutes on each side. Allow to rest for 5 minutes before slicing very thin.
For the pickled vegetables: Combine carrot, daikon and bell pepper in a small saucepan and top with rice wine vinegar. Cook on LOW heat for 30 minutes. Remove from pot and refrigerate until ready to use
To serve: Toast the baguette halves until slightly crisped, about 1 minute. Spread the liver pâté evenly on the bottom halves. Divide the sliced steak between the bread bottoms. Place 3 slices of the cheese over it. Add the sorrel, cilantro, pickled vegetables and jalapeños. Spread the mayonnaise on the cut sides of the top buns. Season with salt and pepper and put on the bun tops. Serve.
Chef notes: Kewpie mayonnaise is a brand from Japan that Chef Villacrusis prefers for his banh mi. It’s available at many Asian grocery stores.
The Lunch Encounter 
