START TO FINISH: 50 minutes
SERVINGS: 4
Vietnamese sandwiches, called banh mi, combine savory, sweet, spicy and herbal flavors, as well as a blend of crunchy and chewy textures. For our weeknight version, we streamline the ingredient list and use quick-cooking skirt steak. The best type of bread to use here is a supermarket baguette or French rolls with a light, airy crumb and thin, brittle crust, not a chewy, rustic bread. You’ll need four 7- to 8-inch pieces of bread; you can cut one or two baguettes into sections or simply use individual rolls. For added heat, include a few thin slices of jalapeño chilies in each sandwich. This is also excellent made with the meatballs from our Vietnamese meatball lettuce wraps (see here).
Don’t forget to remove some of the interior crumb of the bread. Slightly hollowed bread halves make constructing—and eating!—the sandwiches easier.
¾ cup white vinegar
¼ cup white sugar
Kosher salt and ground black pepper
2 medium carrots, peeled and shredded (1 cup)
1 pound skirt steak, cut crosswise into 3- to 4-inch pieces, patted dry
⅓ cup mayonnaise
3 tablespoons Sriracha
Four 7- to 8-inch French bread rolls (see note), split horizontally
½ English cucumber, sliced into ⅛-inch-thick rounds
1 cup lightly packed cilantro sprigs
In a medium bowl, stir together the vinegar, sugar and 1 teaspoon salt. Stir in the carrots and set aside. Heat the broiler with one rack about 4 inches from the element and another in the middle. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil.
Season the steak on both sides with 2 teaspoons salt and 1 teaspoon pepper. Place in an even layer on the prepared baking sheet and let stand at room temperature for 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, in a small bowl, stir together the mayonnaise and Sriracha; set aside. Pull out some of the interior crumb of each piece of bread; the remaining crust and crumb should be about ¾ inch thick. Set aside.
Broil the steak until the center of the thickest piece reaches 125°F for medium-rare or 130°F for medium, 3 to 5 minutes, flipping once halfway through. Turn off the broiler, transfer the steak to a plate and tent with foil. Let rest for 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, arrange the bread halves cut sides down on the now-empty baking sheet; it’s fine if they overlap a bit. Place in the still-warm oven on the middle rack and heat until the bread is warm, about 5 minutes. Strain the carrots.
Spread the cut sides of the bread evenly with the mayonnaise. Cut the steak against the grain on the bias into thin slices. Taste and season with salt and pepper. Evenly divide the steak and any accumulated juices among the bottom halves of the bread, then top with the carrots, cucumber slices and cilantro. Top with the remaining bread.