Arkansas

Arkansas Semi-deconstructed Banh Mi Slider

Hart I. (original recipe)

I used to drive through Arkansas with my ex-girlfriend to see her dad in Texas. On one memorable stop shortly before crossing into Tennessee, we found a small stray kitten at a gas station feebly trying to eat a bug. We brought him home and gave him to a relative (we were still in high school at the time). When we found him he was so young his genitalia had yet to descend and we mistook him for a girl. We named him Emma Dog Batts, though he was later renamed Simon. He grew up strong and we hear he was known to hunt squirrels.

I like Hart's concept for Arkansas Meets Asia Catfish Sliders but since I am swapping out the catfish, I had to think about how to keep it "Arkansas." I settled on adding sweet potato pate to the Banh Mi recipe I make fairly often. Since I omitted sweet potato from the Virgin Islands recipe, here is an opportunity for redemption, a sweet potato of redemption if you will. I found a promising recipe online and converted the units for you.

Pickled Slaw

• 1/2 cu. Water

• 1/2 cu. Apple Cider Vinegar

• 2 tsp. Sugar

• 1/2 tsp. Salt

• 1 small Carrot, grated or spiralized

• 1/4 cu. Cabbage, chopped

• 1 small Jalapeno, sliced

Sweet Potato Red Lentil Pate

• Oil

• 2-3 cloves Garlic, minced

• 1 tsp. Smoked paprika

• 1 small Sweet potato, diced

• 0.3 lb. Red lentils

• 2 cu. Water

• 1 cube Vegetable bouillon

• 1 tsp. Red wine vinegar

To Assemble Sandwich

• Slider roll

• Sweet potato red lentil pate

• Veganaise

• Sriracha

• Cucumber, sliced

• Tofu Kan*

• Cilantro

*Tofu Kan may be a local product, possibly similar to Tofu Lin, but any seasoned tofu will work.

Preparation

The day before: Make the pickled slaw! Chop all vegetables for the pickled slaw and divide between two small jars or one large jar. Heat water and apple cider vinegar until simmering. Dissolve the sugar and salt, then pour pickling liquid over vegetables. Allow to cool to room temperature, then refrigerate.

For the Sweet Potato Red Lentil Pate: Heat a small amount of oil, then add the garlic and cook for about 1 minute. Add smoked paprika and cook, stirring, one more minute. Then add sweet potato, lentils, water, and bouillon. Bring to a simmer and allow to simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until gloopy in texture. Mash the sweet potato pieces, then stir in red wine vinegar.

To assemble the sandwich: Spread sweet potato red lentil pate on one bread half and veganaise on the other. Drizzle the veganaise side with sriracha. Layer the cucumber and tofu kan, then top with cilantro. Serve with slaw and potato chips (optional).

Discussion

Banh mi sliders make for a great easy lunchtime. You can substitute mashed avocado for the pate and then it is almost as simple as remembering to pickle your vegetables ahead of time. I contemplated including both pate and avocado but I thought it would get sloppy and wondered if the flavors would start to muddy.

I bought slider rolls, which are fun, but I would probably recommend just cutting a piece of French bread to an appropriate size.

I thought eating the slaw on the side would be a down side, but because the sliders are so small, it keeps them from falling apart, and if you eat them at the same time there is essentially no difference.

The pate is more heavily lentil than sweet potato, but that is OK for a sweet potato lightweight like me. It was a welcome addition to my usual recipe and delivers on Arkansas Meets Asia. I thought about sharing some of my memories of Asia, mostly from a five-week adventure 14 years ago, but I think I went a little too far in-depth on the cuisine. Suffice to say, it was amazing. I thought I'd be back but nothing is what I expected.

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