BANH MI with LEMONGRASS TOFU and GINGER AIOLI

image MAKES 4 SANDWICHES

It drives me bonkers when banh mi are made with stiff-crusted French baguettes. That tough crust rips the roof of your mouth, and the bread’s so firm it squishes out the filling. You want soft bread for banh mi. Crispy, but thin crust. That’s what a Vietnamese-style baguette is all about, and if you can find it, you’ll have yourself a killer sandwich. A hoagie or sub sandwich roll also works. Either way, the bread should lovingly cradle the mix of tart, sweet, salty, spicy, creamy, and crunchy ingredients inside. —CHAD

BAKED LEMONGRASS TOFU

1 block (14 ounces) extra-firm tofu

½ cup prepared lemonade or orange juice

¼ cup agave syrup

3 tablespoons tamari or soy sauce

3 tablespoons rice vinegar

2 tablespoons thinly sliced lemongrass (use a mandoline)

1 small red chile, sliced into thin rounds

½ tablespoon grated or zested fresh ginger

ASSEMBLY

4 small (6-inch) Vietnamese-style baguettes or sub sandwich rolls

½ cup Ginger Aioli (here)

¾ cup Pickled Carrots and Chiles (here)

½ avocado, pitted, peeled, and sliced

Handful of fresh cilantro sprigs

A few drizzles of Homemade Badass Sriracha (here) or other sriracha

image TO BAKE THE TOFU: Press the tofu like a sandwich between paper towels and plates weighted down with a heavy book. Let it press for at least 10 minutes or up to 1 hour. (Pressing gives tofu a firmer texture and helps it absorb more marinade.)

image Preheat the oven to 325ºF.

image Slice the pressed slab of tofu lengthwise into 6 to 8 thinner slabs, each about ¼ inch thick. Mix the lemonade, agave, tamari, vinegar, lemongrass, chile, and ginger in a baking dish large enough to hold all the tofu slabs in a single layer (a 13- x 9-inch dish works well). Place the tofu in the marinade and flip each slab to coat completely. Bake for 45 minutes. Use a spatula to carefully flip each slab, then continue baking until the marinade is completely absorbed but not burning, another 20 to 30 minutes. Burning is bad here. Let cool in the baking dish.

image When cool, cut the tofu diagonally into triangles. This whole process can be done a few days ahead. Just chill the baked tofu triangles in the fridge.

image TO ASSEMBLE: Slice the baguettes or rolls lengthwise to open them up, leaving the two halves attached. For each sandwich, spread a generous amount of aioli on both bread halves. Layer on 3 or 4 slices of tofu, some pickled carrots and chiles, and sliced avocado. Garnish with a few cilantro sprigs and drizzle with sriracha.