Easy Banh Mi/Saigon/Viet Sandwhiches

Ok...so I love eating these sandwhiches. Grew up eating them in the east coast, but when my family and I moved up north, these sandwhiches were very hard to find. It's been years since I've had one made fresh until I moved to Hawaii. Within the first month of living in Hawaii, I was eating these sandwhiches like crazy (I was in my third trimester of my pregnancy). I also got my husband to try them for the first time and he got addicted. But it was a hassle for me to drive so far just for a sandwhich so I decided to make my own from scratch.

Pate` is not your everyday spread on bread or crackers. It's basically baked pureed liver paste with additional seasonings. It tastes like liver but with an apple sauce texture. I love it on almost everything. To me, the must have ingredients in this sandwhich is, obviously, the pate`, pickled vegetables, and cilantro. For me, if any of these ingredients is missing then it's just not a banh mi.

I have made my very own home made pate` before, but never wrote down the recipe with exact measurements. However, I've found an easier way to make the pate`. Of course, home made from scratch is always the best.

                                                      **In this picture, I used turkey**
Ingredients:
8 oz braunschweiger
1/2 tsp fish sauce
1/2 tsp Maggi sauce
1/2 tsp corriander seeds
2 star anise
3 cloves
Steamed pork, cooked (use ham, turkey, shredded chicken or other meat fillings)
Cilantro
Mayo
Sriracha *optional*
Baguettes, sliced lengthwise

Pickling: Dou Chua
3-4 carrots, thinly julienned to about 2-3 inches long
1 large daikon, same as carrots
1 1/2 cup white vinegar
4 Tbsp white sugar
2 tsp salt

Make ahead of time:
Mix all vinegar, sugar, and salt in a pot until dissolved. Fill a jar with both the julienned carrots and daikons. Add vinegar mixture until covers vegetables. Close lid and let it pickled for a few days or at room temperature for about 1 hr.

Pate`:
Finely grind up the corriander seeds, star anise, and cloves. In a bowl, combine the fish sauce, maggi sauce, and liver paste until well mixed. Add a little of the grind spices at a time to the liver paste (I love the spices so I added most of it). Taste and add more spices if you'd like but remember...you can always add more but can never take back. Mix well until all is combined. If too salty, add some salt.

Assembly:
Lightly toast both sides of the baguettes. Spread mayo on top bun. If using sriracha sauce, spread some onto the mayo. On the bottom bread, spread a layer of the liver paste. Add a layer of your meat filling. Top it off with some pickled vegetables and cilantro. Sandwhich together both breads and enjoy!