Pork Banh Mi Tacos
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Pork Banh Mi tacos take all the deliciousness of the classic Vietnamese sandwich recipe and make it perfect for taco Tuesday and beyond. Make the banh mi recipe in the slow cooker or oven for a recipe that is versatile and full of flavor.
Tacos aren’t what come to mind first when you think of Vietnamese recipes. But, these Vietnamese banh mi tacos will totally change you mind about that.Â
We love tacos in our house and I always look for new flavors to enjoy in taco form. From traditional Mexican flavors to Thai, Japanese, or even Italian, I love trying new recipes.
What is a banh mi?
A traditional banh mi is a Vietnamese sandwich served on a baguette and filled with pork, pickled vegetables, pate and jalapenos. Some places also include mayonnaise on the sandwich.
These banh mi tacos take most of those flavors and pile them into soft tortillas. I skip the pate since it isn’t something I keep around the house often but you are free to add that in if you want to go even closer to the original flavors.
One of the key pieces of the banh mi is the pickled vegetables which is typically a mix of carrots, cucumber and daikon radish. You can substitute regular radish if you can’t find the daikon.
You can make the pickled vegetables two ways:
- Heating up the pickling liquid and then adding it to the vegetables. Then, it all goes into the fridge.
- Combining the pickling liquid with the vegetables and putting it in the fridge to “pickle.”
Since this pickling mixture includes sugar, I find the heating method works better for ensuring the sugar disolves.
I tried these banh mi tacos with the pork sliced, shredded, and cubed. I found that the shredded pork worked best and was the most flavorful because you can put it back into the sauce after you shred it to soak up even more flavor.
I cooked my pork in the oven but you could easily do it in the slow cooker if you wanted to let it cook during the day while you were out. Either way, you will get super tender and flavorful pork that is perfect for combining with all the other flavors of a banh mi.
These tacos have so many complex flavors and taste amazing. Go ahead and fill your plate with two because there is no way you can settle for just one.
More Great Vietnamese Recipes
More Great Taco Recipes
- Halloumi Tacos with Red Cabbage Slaw
- Turkey and Black Bean Tacos
- Chicken Bacon Mango Tacos
- Pork Carnitas Tacos
- Korean Beef Tacos
Essential Items for this Recipe:
If you make these pork banh mi tacos or any other recipe from the blog, I’d love to hear about your experience. Let me know in the comments or snap a photo and tag it #MySuburbanKitchen on Instagram or Twitter.
Pork Banh Mi Tacos
Ingredients
Pork
- 2 pound pork shoulder
- 1 1/2 Tablespoons five spice powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 2 Tablespoons brown sugar
- 2 Tablespoons salt
- 1/2 Tablespoon black pepper
- 2 Tablespoons avocado oil
- 1 Tablespoon sesame oil
- 10 cloves garlic, minced
- 3 Tablespoons minced ginger
- 1/2 cup soy sauce
- 1/4 cup rice vinegar
- 3/4 cup water
- 1 onion, thinly sliced
Pickled Vegetables
- 2 cups shredded daikon radish
- 1 cup shredded carrots
- 1 small cucumber, thinly sliced into half moons
- 1 cup rice vinegar
- 1 cup white vinegar
- 1 1/2 Tablespoons sugar
- 1 1/2 Tablespoons salt
Sriracha Mayonnaise
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise
- 1 Tablespoon Sriracha
Tacos
- 12 small tortillas
- 2 jalapenos, sliced
Instructions
Pork
- Preheat oven to 275 degrees. In a small bowl, mix together five spice, salt, pepper, cayenne, and brown sugar. Rub all over pork.1 1/2 Tablespoons five spice powder, 1 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper, 2 Tablespoons brown sugar, 2 Tablespoons salt, 1/2 Tablespoon black pepper
- Heat avocado oil over medium-high heat in dutch oven. Sear pork on all sides. Set aside.2 Tablespoons avocado oil, 2 pound pork shoulder
- Add sesame oil to dutch oven. Add garlic and ginger and cook for 1 minute or until fragrant. Add soy sauce, rice vinegar, and water. Cook for 2-3 minutes.1 Tablespoon sesame oil, 10 cloves garlic,, 3 Tablespoons minced ginger, 1/2 cup soy sauce, 1/4 cup rice vinegar, 3/4 cup water
- Add a few onion slices to bottom of dutch oven. Return pork to pan and top with remaining onion slices. Transfer to oven and cook for about 3 hours or until tender. Shred with fork once done.1 onion,
Pickled Vegetables
- In a small saucepan, combine rice vinegar, white vinegar, sugar and salt. Bring to boil and then remove from heat. Add carrots, cucumber and daikon radish to mason jar or bowl and top with vinegar mixture. Transfer to refrigerator until ready to use.2 cups shredded daikon radish, 1 cup shredded carrots, 1 cup rice vinegar, 1 cup white vinegar, 1 1/2 Tablespoons sugar, 1 1/2 Tablespoons salt, 1 small cucumber,
Sriracha Mayonnaise
- In a small bowl, combine mayonnaise and sriracha. Stir to combine.1/2 cup mayonnaise, 1 Tablespoon Sriracha
Tacos
- Spread each tortillas with sriracha mayonnaise. Top with shredded pork, pickled vegetables and sliced jalapenos.12 small tortillas, 2 jalapenos,
Nutrition
Awesome flavor combination! Thanks for sharing!
Will definitely be making these again for Taco Tuesday! So good!
These delicious pork tacos are so darn tasty! This recipe’s a keeper
Highly recommend. Love the flavor from the pickled vegetables.
My husband had been craving bahn mi and I was thrilled to find this yummy recipe to make for him.
Can i make this without using the brown sugar?
Yes, you could remove the brown sugar but the taste will change. If you are looking for a lower sugar option, I’d recommend either halving the sugar amount or using a sugar substitute over remove the sugar completely.