Banh Meatless

I had the "Banh Meatless" at the Mermaid cafe and was blown away by its tastiness. A vegetarian take on the Vietnamese Banh Mi sandwich. So instead of the traditional roast pork its marinated tofu. I'm not sure if they then fry this tofu, but it sure has a very meaty texture to it. I always walk in there thinking I'll try something new, but who am I kidding - I just want a juicy banh meatless. Now that I don't get around to the east side as much, I need to find a replacement for my banh meatless fix. 

The first step was to prep the tofu. I used medium firm tofu, sliced up in about 1/2 inch thick slices. Place these on a paper towel in a single layer. Top off with another paper towel, another plate and a weight. I used 2 large cans of beans to weigh it down. This should help remove a little extra moisture from the tofu. I left this contraption in the fridge for about 2 hours. 

Meanwhile I looked up a few recipes for the marinade. Many had lemongrass as the main ingredient. I had no idea where I might find lemongrass around here, so I just disregarded that step and made up my own mix of ingredients.

Into the blender goes:
Garlic scapes
Garlic
Ginger
Parsley (cilantro would have been better, but parsley is what I had)
Scallion
Green chili

Chop finely, and the add:
Sesame oil
Fish sauce
Soy sauce
Rice wine vinegar

Make a paste and slather it on to the tofu. Let it sit for as long as you can wait. I waited for 10 mins. I'm sure longer would be better. At this point I considered baking the tofu. But I was getting impatient and went with a pan fry instead.

The rest of the sandwich consisted of a toasted a demi baguette and a slaw part was just some shredded kohlrabi and red cabbage with lemon juice.

Next time around I'll keep some marinade for the sandwich. I might even make the marinade a bit thinner. Maybe a dash more soy sauce. Not the same as Mermaid Cafe, but I'm heading in the right direction.