Disclaimer: I am no banh mi expert. At best an “enthusiast”, but only because I had a political philosophy teacher in college that would moonlight as a food critic and had a pretty extensive section on his blog about his personal journey to find the best banh mi. So thats out of the way.

We’ve still been pretty hot on trying to nail down a contender for the perfect Steve’s Deli vegan sandwich. As far as sandwiches go, the banh mi is the perfect balancing act of flavor and texture. Sweet, spicy, refreshing, and piled high with pork. Forgive us for our trespasses as we attempt to ditch the hog and make it through to the other side with a dark horse for the menu.

If I’m being honest, I really don’t care for eggplant. I resent being a food complainer, but I have a hard time getting over childhood memories of this mush plant drowned in marinara (sorry Mom). I know most of my aversion is in the texture. Drop those suckers in a skillet of oil and in no time you’re choking down a limp, flavorless grease patty. Its time to see what acts of magic our new vacuum sealer can perform.

We chopped a few miniature rainbow eggplant (adorable) into small medallions and dried them. We then vacuum infused them with a combination of light miso, black garlic, vinegar, vegan Worcestershire (see: The Wizard), and a bit of soy sauce.  While letting that sit, we cooked down a reserved batch of the same mixture with some molasses and chile. 

We vacuumed the h out of just about everything in this sandwich save the bread and the cilantro. Hello quick pickling.

The eggplant was finished with a quick sear. Pretty impressed with the texture! Infusing the initial sauce left little room for the eggplant to absorb much additional oil. 

We sort of flubbed it on baguette. Too dense and floury, but luckily only a minor misstep. 

Overall I’d count this a success. While I’m hesitant to mutter the words “banh mi” where theres no meat in the mix, these turned out well rounded and totally satisfying.  If you’re looking for a non-vegan banh mi in Pittsburgh, check out Lucy on Penn and 22nd (weather permitting).