People say, ‘You can’t have it all’, but they probably don’t know about banh mi a Vietnamese-colonial French champion of a sandwich. Crusty bread, yes, but also pickles, herbs, mayo, chillies and a spiced delicious filling – and, in this case, tofu fried in five spice, too. It’s got texture, flavour, heat, cool, crunch and an interesting history to boot. One that I can’t fit into my word limit here, but you get the picture – banh mi has it all.

Tofu banh mi

Julienning vegetables doesn’t have to be time-consuming – I use a julienne peeler like this one to make thin strips in seconds for the carrot and courgette pickles.

Prep 20 min

Cook 30 min

Serves 2

For the pickles

1 small carrot, peeled (100g net)

½ courgette (100g net)

100ml white-wine vinegar

2 tbsp soft brown sugar

½ tsp salt

For the tofu

2 tbsp rapeseed oil

280g extra-firm tofu, very finely chopped or pulsed in a food processor, until mince-like

2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed

4cm piece fresh ginger, peeled and grated

1 bird’s eye chilli, finely sliced

1 tsp Chinese five spice powder

2 tsp soy sauce (or tamari)

To serve

2 baguettes

4 tbsp vegan mayonnaise

3 tbsp coriander leaves

3 tbsp mint leaves

First make the pickles. Julienne the carrot and courgette, and put them in a bowl. Put the vinegar, sugar and salt in a small saucepan over a high heat, bring to a boil, then pour immediately over the sliced veg. Toss, then place a piece of baking paper on top of the vegetables, press down to keep them submerged, then set aside to cool.

For the tofu, heat the oil in a heavy-bottomed pan over a medium-high heat and add the tofu. Fry for five minutes, tossing and turning every minute or so, until it starts to colour at the edges. Add the garlic, ginger and chilli, fry for a minute more, then stir in the five spice and soy sauce. Add three tablespoons of the pickling liquor to the pan, then fry for a further five minutes, until you have a dark, rich tofu mince.

To assemble the banh mi, cut open a baguette, making sure not to slice all the way through. Tear out some of the fluffy insides, if you wish, then smear the bottom half of the baguette with two tablespoons of mayonnaise. Top with half the tofu mince, add half the pickles and then half the herbs, and repeat with the second baguette. Carefully close the breads and enjoy immediately.

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