Turkey Banh Mi

My aunt sent home some turkey from the Thanksgiving gathering we missed (and two turkey carcasses!  I made and canned stock, thanks Aunt Elena).  I saw this recipe for Turkey Banh Mi by Alison Ashton in the newspaper, and I suddenly knew where some turkey scraps were going.

You all, I love turkey sandwiches to begin with, but this sandwich is something amazing.  I didn't actually follow all Ashton's suggestions because I had a faint memory that the veggies on the sandwich were pickled, and doing some research landed me on the The Kitchn's extremely useful post.  The resulting banh mi was so excellent that I just made it over and over until I used up my ingredients, but I'm going to put Ashton's sauce recipe at the end of this post because it sounds good and I'm sure I'd like to experiment with banh mi again.

How I built my banh mi:

French bread (hollow it out a little or else be prepared to press down firmly when you attempt to get it in your mouth)

mayonnaise

generous squirts sriracha

sliced cucumber

Do chua (recipe below)

generous chopped cilantro

chopped scallions

cold, cooked turkey shreds

We ate our sandwiches with hot and sour soup, even though they really hit all the food groups.  Everyone loved them.  I confess to hiding the various components in the fridge so I could have banh mi every day for lunch until the turkey was gone.  But I shared the idea and recipes with you!  I'm generous like that.

Do Chua, adapted slightly from Andrea Nguyen

Cut in large matchsticks:

1 large carrot

1 lb. 2" diameter daikon radishes

Mix in bowl with:

1 tsp. salt

2 tsp. sugar

Allow to sit for 20-30 minutes until there's a puddle under the veggies and you can bend the matchsticks (alternatively, if you stay with the veggies and massage them you can speed up the process - depends on how you like to spend your time).  Drain off the liquid, pressing the matchsticks gently. 

In container that is between a quart and a half-gallon, combine:

1 cup warm water

1 1/4 cup white vinegar

1/2 cup sugar

When the sugar is dissolved, add the drained matchstick veggies. Cover and store in fridge.  Marinate at least 1 hour before using, and use up in 2 weeks.

Alison Ashton's Thanksgiving Banh Mi Sauce 

Combine:

2 Tbsp. smooth cranberry sauce

1Tbsp. warm water

1 Tbsp. fish sauce

1/2 tsp. sugar

minced serrano chile (I would use sriracha)

1 grated garlic clove

juice of 1 lime (I would add the zest, too)

Marinate the turkey for the banh mi in this sauce at least 15 minutes.