The term ‘moment’ has been pushed around a lot lately in the food world to underscore momentum and fervor around something. The one that seemed strangest to me was the notion of a “hot dog moment.” Summertime is grilling season so hot dogs and hamburgers have many moments. What seemed different were all the non-traditional hot dog sandwiches that have been part of the growing lists of hot dog ideas. Given the rising popularity of Vietnamese banh mi sandwiches, banh mi hot dogs were part of the action.
Real Simple dubbed theirs a “banh mi dog,” which made me cringe a bit because dog is an exotic meat in the Vietnamese repertory. As you can imagine, the topic has sparked debate, the nature of which depends on which end of the table you sit at – with animal rights activists or aficionados, who may begin expounding the virtues of dog blood sausages that are part of the head to tail approach. For the record, I have never eaten Vietnamese dog dishes. However, I grew up on a mock dog stew that my mom prepared from pork. Thit nau gia cay is a northern Vietnamese specialty, one that Vice Munchies recently interviewed me on.
Let’s return to the American understanding of a hot dog. My family adored them when we arrived here in the United States. I loved their fine texture and snap, both of which remind me of the texture of Asian meat and seafood pastes. Vietnamese silky sausages (gio lua and cha lua) have a similar snap too. Growing up, I sliced and seared hot dogs for instant top ramen lunches and made sandwiches.
We could rarely afford Oscar Mayer or Ball Park brands. When they went on sale, I sang the Oscar Mayer wiener song in my head. Similarly I marveled as the Ball Park franks plumped up as they cooked. Our family of seven enjoyed mostly off brands, and maybe had too many of them. Since I left for college, I’ve rarely eaten a hot dog at home.
However, with hot dogs being er... hot, I revisited them through the lens of banh mi. At two local butcher shops, I can buy single hot dogs. I tried four kinds:
They are what you’d call high-end dogs. In the photo above, from left to right: Pasture-raised Fork in the Road beef hot dog, old fashioned wiener made with beef, German frank made with veal and pork, and bison hot dog. The prices were $8 to 9 per pound.
The banh mi hot dogs I’d seen online used soft rolls to stay true to the American hot dog experience. I wasn’t sure if that would work for my Vietnamese take. I bought fancy brioche hot dog buns and thawed homemade banh mi rolls for the experiment.
To echo the sauerkraut and onion used on some hot dogs, I made a green cabbage version of my citrusy red cabbage pickle and pickled shallot from The Banh Mi Handbook. Homemade Sriracha aioli and mayonnaise were part of the mix as well. Of course there were Maggi Seasoning sauce, chile, cucumber and cilantro.
I wanted to grill the hot dogs for character but the skinny ones were unwieldy and would have ended looking like X chromosomes on the grill. I boiled those. The husky dogs got partially split and cooked on my new favorite tool – Le Creuset’s skinny grill (its compact size and shape hold a lot, including long skewers of satay).
The cucumber got sliced because that enabled me to tuck them into the sandwich without them fighting with the round shape of the hot dogs. When you make a sandwich, make sure the shapes of the ingredients play well together. Otherwise, a cucumber spear may shoot out when you take a bite! You’ll floss with long springs of cilantro. I added the pickle at the end to make sure things held together well.
I made four banh mi hot dogs for lunch. They were all good, though the bison flavor wasn’t great. The German frank reminded me of Vietnamese silky sausage; its spices and seasoning would pair well with a smearing of liver pate.
“The hot dog bun doesn’t taste good with this,” my husband Rory said. I totally agreed. The traditional soft hot dog roll lacked the crispness to stand up to all the pickles and vegetable garnishes. I heated the brioche hot dog bun like I did with the banh mi roll but that didn’t do much for crisping the bun. At the end of the day, we ate up the banh mi hot dogs made with banh mi rolls and picked at the other ones.
If you’re in the mood for a banh mi hot dog, feel free to use the daikon (or radish) and carrot pickle. For a dac biet banh mi hot dog, slice the hot dogs and toss them around a skillet. Then layer them on with other Vietnamese charcuterie. Whatever you do, use a light, crisp roll to stay true to the banh mi spirit. You’ll have a Vietnamese-American banh mi hot dog moment of your own.
Related posts and links:
- Lemongrass Pork Sausage Banh Mi recipe (summery banh mi)
- Rory's Corned Beef and Cabbage (another use for that cabbage pickle!)
- Marine fights Vietnam's dog eating culture (if you're interested in this issue)
- Vietnamese Mock Dog Stew: Is it ready for the mainstream (Vice Munchies)
- Hot Dogs are Sandwiches (USA Today)
