The Sub Way

Do you want to get your stomach to where it wants to be, fast? Then the Vietnamese Sub is the way to go. This sandwich is the perfect balance of taste (savoury, sweet, tangy, spicy) and texture (chewy, crunchy, smooth). It's easy to find these at most Vietnamese cafes and at an alarmingly good value (usually around $3.00), but for an even better value, and mostly for fun, I thought I'd try my hand at creating my own. The result was a successful venture. You too can take your stomach on a taste trip.

Ingredients: A nice long, thin baguette cut into sections (or Portuguese buns), pate, cilantro, jalepeno peppers, Vietnamese pickles. Mayo, soya sauce and cold cuts are optional.

Instructions: Plunk it all together anyway you like. If you like sauce, you can use the mayo and soy sauce as a base spread under the pate.

Okay, you do have to make your own Vietnamese pickles because I have yet to find a place to buy these. I always thought these would be hard to make and therefore never tried, but am I ever glad I did. Not only are they easy to make, they taste amazing on most anything, and are perfectly great on their own too.

Recipe for Vietnamese pickles: Cut carrots and daikon radish into long strips. (I can be lazy, so I cut mine in rather roguish fashion. They look prettier sliced thin.) Place into a dish and sprinkle all over with salt. Let sit for an hour. Strain any liquid off, and damp the carrots and daikon dry with a paper towel. Put into a glass jar. Make a separate mixture of vinegar and sugar. Use about 6 tablespoons of sugar per cup of vinegar. Pour enough vinegar-sugar mixture into the jar to cover the carrots and daikon. Leave in the fridge overnight. The next day, try some. If it's the brine isn't sweet enough, add more sugar, shake and let sit awhile longer. Now they are perfect and you can thank my mom for this pickle recipe ;o)