Banh Mi Tostada Recipe
Food Recipes | Fusion | Gameday | Mexican | Sandwiches | Tacos | Vietnamese
If you ever wished someone would take two of the world’s best street foods and just smash them together — hi, we did exactly that. This Banh Mi Tostada is the love child of Vietnamese bánh mì and Mexican tostadas, and honestly? She should’ve been born sooner.
Deeply savory pork shoulder steaks — marinated in a lemongrass, shallot, and garlic blend that’s ridiculously fragrant — grilled to caramelized perfection right on your Charbroil. Layered onto a crispy grilled flour tortilla with pickled daikon, cucumber, and carrots that are tangy, crunchy, and doing the absolute most. Then finished with a cilantro jalapeño mayo that has exactly zero chill. Fresh cilantro on top, because it belongs.
The flavors hit in layers: savory pork with aromatic lemongrass, bright acidity from the quick pickles, slow heat from the jalapeño, and that creamy mayo tying the whole thing together. It’s the kind of bite that makes you go quiet for a second — not because anything went wrong, but because it’s that good.
Plan ahead on this one. The pickled veggies and the pork marinade both need at least two hours in the fridge — overnight if you can swing it. But this is street food meets street food, and it’s your cue to welcome spring with a little extra char.
PREP TIME
45 mins
COOK TIME
15 mins
SERVINGS
4
Ingredients
Pickled Veggies
- 1/2 regular size daikon (can substitute parsnip)
- 2 cucumber
- 3 carrots
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 cup rice vinegar
- 3 Tbsp sugar
- 1 cup water
Cilantro & Jalapeño Mayonnaise
- 2 cloves garlic, very finely minced
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise
- 1 tsp cilantro paste
- 1 tsp jalapeño paste
- 1/2 lemon, juiced
- Salt, to taste
- Pepper, to taste
Banh Mi Tostada
- 2-3lbs pork butt steak
- 1/2 cup lemongrass paste
- 1 Tbsp ginger paste
- 1 Tbsp cilantro paste
- 1 Tbsp jalapeño paste
- 1 head garlic, minced
- 3-5 shallots (depending on size)
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 2 Tbsp sesame oil
- 2 Tbsp neutral oil
- 2 Tbsp soy sauce
- 4 fajita-size flour tortillas
- Olive oil
- Salt, to taste
- Pepper, to taste
- Pickled Veggies
- Cilantro & Jalapeño Mayonnaise
- Fresh cilantro, for garnish
COOKING INSTRUCTIONS:
Banh Mi Tostada
Pickled Veggies
- Slice daikon, cucumber, and carrots into 2” matchsticks. Combine with salt, vinegar, sugar, and water in a storable container. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours (half a day is best).
Cilantro & Jalapeño Mayonnaise
- Add all ingredients to a small bowl. Mix until well-combined. Chill until ready for use.
Banh Mi Tostada
- In large resealable bag, add lemongrass, ginger, cilantro, jalapeño, garlic, shallots, sugar, sesame oil, cooking oil, and Tbsp soy sauce. Shake to be combine, while being sure not to spill sauce outside of bag. Place pork steaks inside bag, then shake bag again to evenly coat the pork. Seal while removing as much air as possible. Let meat marinade in the fridge for at least 2 hours (overnight is best).
- Preheat Charbroil grill to medium-high heat.
- Grill pork for 2-3 mins per side, or till at least 145ºF internal temp. Let rest 5 mins, then cut around bones to remove them. Slice steak somewhat thinly against the grain (~4” long slices).
- While pork is resting, brush both sides of each tortilla with olive oil. Grill on medium high-heat for 2-3 mins per side, or until beginning to get golden brown. Remove and set aside.
- To build a Banh Mi Tostada: Top 1 grilled tortilla with ~1/4 of the grilled pork, Pickled Veggies (to taste), Cilantro & Jalapeño Mayonnaise (to taste), and fresh cilantro. Repeat with remaining ingredients. Enjoy!
Tips for Nailing Your Banh Mi Tostada
The marinade is everything — don’t skip overnight if you can help it. Two hours will get you there, but letting the pork sit overnight is where the real magic happens. The lemongrass, shallots, and garlic need time to work their way deep into the meat, and you’ll absolutely taste the difference. Planning a dinner this weekend? Throw the pork in the bag before you go to bed the night before. Done.
Make the pickled veggies early — more time means more flavor. Same philosophy applies. Two hours is the minimum, but if you can pickle the daikon, cucumber, and carrots the morning of (or even the day before), you’ll get a deeper, tangier bite that really makes the whole dish pop. The pickles also keep in the fridge for up to a week in an airtight container, so batch them out and thank yourself later.
Get the tortillas properly crispy. Brush both sides generously with olive oil before they hit the grill. You want golden-brown grill marks and a tortilla that holds up under the weight of the toppings — not something that folds or goes soggy. Grill them while the pork is resting so everything comes off the heat around the same time.
Slice the pork against the grain. After the 5-minute rest, cut around the bones and then slice thinly across the muscle fibers. This keeps every bite tender instead of tough and chewy — about 4″ long slices are the sweet spot.
Ways to Make This Your Own
Swap the protein and it becomes a whole new dish. Pork butt steak is ideal here — the fat content keeps it juicy on the grill — but this lemongrass marinade is wildly versatile. Boneless, skinless chicken thighs work great with the same marinade and timing. Shrimp is a faster option if you’re short on time — just marinate for 30 minutes max, then grill on skewers. For a vegetarian version, thick-cut extra-firm tofu soaks up the marinade beautifully and gets nice char marks on the grill.
The tortilla situation is flexible. Flour tortillas give you a chewy interior with a crispy grilled exterior. Corn tortillas work if you want something a little sturdier and more traditional-tasting. For a gluten-free version, cassava flour tortillas are an excellent swap — they grill up almost identically to flour and hold their structure well under the toppings.
Can’t find daikon? You’ve got options. Parsnip is called out in the recipe as a direct substitute. Thinly sliced radishes work too, with a slightly more peppery bite. Or just double up on the carrots and cucumber — honestly, the pickle brine is so good that any crunchy vegetable benefits from a dip in it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I make the pickled veggies ahead of time?
Yes — and you really should. They keep in the fridge for up to a week in an airtight container. Making them a day ahead gives them more time to develop that deep, tangy flavor that makes the whole dish sing. Same goes for the cilantro jalapeño mayo — make that ahead too, and dinner practically builds itself.
What if I don’t have a grill?
A cast iron grill pan over high heat is your best indoor option. You won’t get the same smoky depth as an outdoor grill, but you’ll still get good browning on the pork and grill marks on the tortillas. For the tortillas specifically, a dry heavy skillet on medium-high also works — cook until they start to blister and go golden.
What is daikon and where do I find it?
Daikon is a large white radish used widely in Vietnamese, Japanese, and Korean cooking. Raw, it has a mild peppery bite — once pickled, it softens into something tangy and almost sweet. You’ll find it in most Asian grocery stores, and many larger supermarkets now carry it in the produce section. If you can’t track one down, parsnip works great as a substitute.
Can I use store-bought mayo instead of making the jalapeño cilantro sauce?
You could, but don’t. The cilantro jalapeño mayo takes about 2 minutes to make and it’s a major reason this dish tastes the way it does. Plain mayo would get lost under all those bold flavors — you want that herby, spicy kick.
PAIRINGS:
Banh Mi Tostada
Prosecco
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