Banh-Mi-Style Beef Tacos
with Pickled Cucumber & Sriracha Mayo
Combining tender meat, crunchy pickled veggies, fresh cilantro, spicy chilies, and creamy spreads, the Vietnamese banh mi is one of our all-time favorite sandwiches. Here, we take all those same flavors and textures and channel them into some seriously delicious tacos. Tangy-sweet beef is piled into warm tortillas with sautéed carrots, pickled cucumber, cilantro, and sriracha mayo. Taco ’bout an epic dinner!
1 unit
Lime
1 unit
Persian Cucumber
¼ ounce
Cilantro
10 ounce
Ground Beef
5 teaspoon
Rice Wine Vinegar
4 ounce
Shredded Carrots
2 tablespoon
Mayonnaise
()
1 teaspoon
Sriracha
6 unit
Flour Tortillas
()
4 tablespoon
Sweet Soy Glaze
()
2 teaspoon
Vegetable Oil
½ teaspoon
Sugar
Salt
Pepper
• Wash and dry all produce. • Halve lime. Trim and halve cucumber lengthwise; thinly slice crosswise into half-moons. Finely chop cilantro.
• In a small bowl, combine half the vinegar (you’ll use the rest later), juice from half the lime, ½ tsp sugar (1 tsp for 4 servings), and a pinch of salt. • Stir in cucumber. Set aside to quick-pickle.
• Heat a drizzle of oil in a large, preferably nonstick, pan over medium-high heat. Add carrots and cook, stirring, until just tender, 1 minute. Season with salt and pepper. • Turn off heat; transfer to a plate.
• Heat another drizzle of oil in same pan over medium-high heat. Add beef*; season with a pinch of salt and pepper. Cook, breaking up meat into pieces, until browned and cooked through, 4-6 minutes. • Stir in sweet soy glaze and remaining vinegar. Bring to a simmer, then immediately turn off heat. Taste and season with salt and pepper.
• In a second small bowl, combine mayonnaise with sriracha to taste. Season with salt. Stir in water 1 tsp at a time until mixture reaches a drizzling consistency.
• Wrap tortillas in damp paper towels and microwave until warm and pliable, 30 seconds. • Divide tortillas between plates and fill with saucy beef, carrots, pickled cucumber (draining first), and cilantro. Drizzle with sriracha mayo. Cut remaining lime into wedges and serve on the side.
