Steak Banh Mi

Tonight I decided to try Everyday Food's Vietnamese Steak Sandwich recipe (a variation on the Vietnamese banh mi). I've made a really delicious shrimp version that is now a staple but I decided to give steak a try. In their version they don't use mayo or any sauce similar to mayo. They only use the vinagrette (rice wine vinegar, a bit of crushed red pepper, garlic and sugar) in which they soak the shredded carrots and scallions. I decided to add my homemade aioli (my favorite condiment even though I HATE mayo) to give it more flavor and moisture.

You only have to marinate the beef for an hour in the lime marinade and it turns out perfect. I think we grilled our steaks for about ten minutes and they were in between rare and medium-rare (normally I like mine medium-well). The marinade also had crushed red pepper and garlic which added more flavor than I expected (sometimes marinades don't soak in well, especially for only an hour). We put the thin slices of steak on sub rolls from 99 Ranch Market (which were definitely baked for banh mi sandwiches) along with the shredded veggies and a drizzle of the vinegar sauce.

This is an excellent meal. And easy too! I made the marinade ahead of time since I thought I would be out and was going to have my husband put the steak in the marinade so that when I got home it would be ready. This is perfect for working families. I'm sure you could substitute chicken, pork or shrimp if you don't eat beef.

If you'd like the recipe let me know. It's super simple. You could probably figure it out just from my post.

Note: the picture doesn't do this sandwich justice. Also, my bread/buns/toast are always burnt because we have a TERRIBLE toaster oven and I hate turning on my oven if I'm only toasting buns. Anyone have a good recommendation for a reasonably priced toaster oven?