Banh Mi Oysters
Drawing from the flavor profile of one of the world’s best sandwich varieties, the banh mi, this broiled oyster recipe packs the vim and brightness of the Vietnamese sandwich into the tiny cup of an oyster shell.
This recipe is for one dozen oysters. Any oyster will do... blue pools are pictured here... but keep in mind that oysters shrink up quite a bit when cooked, so if you like a big cooked oyster you should stick with our grillers. Adjust the cook time to fit the size of the oyster.
Ingredients
1 dz oysters2 day old (or older) banh mi baguette (makes about 2 cups of breadcrumbs)
1/4 cup sunflower oil
1/4 cup pickled carrots and daikon, finely chopped (see recipe below)
1/2 cup loosely packed cilantro, finely chopped, plus more to garnish
1 whole jalapeno, seeded and finely chopped
2 slices cooked bacon, finely chopped
1 tsp kosher salt
1 Tbsp fish sauce
1 Tbsp lime zest, plus more to garnish
1 Tbsp chives, thinly sliced
Procedure
Add rock salt to a sheet pan or baking tray. Take the tops off of the oysters (shucking instructions here) and drain the liquor out, keeping the oysters in their bottom shells. Nestle the oyster shells on the tray, using the rock salt to keep them upright.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Tear the baguette into large chunks, place onto a large sheet pan and drizzle with sunflower oil. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes or until the bread turns golden brown. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool.
Turn the oven to broil.
Once the bread is cool, pulse it in a food processor until the consistency resembles thick sand and all the chunks have been broken down.
In a large bowl, combine breadcrumbs with pickles, cilantro, jalapeno, bacon, salt, fish sauce, and lime zest. Mix with your hands. The breadcrumb mixture should feel like a Thanksgiving stuffing... slightly saturated with the wet ingredients but not damp or soggy.
Top each oyster with a tablespoon of banh mi breadcrumbs, being mindful not to topple the oyster over. Broil for 5 to 7 minutes and remove from the oven when the crumbs appear crispy and have darkened a couple shades in color.
Garnish with the remaining lime zest, cilantro, and chives. Serve on a tray atop rock salt along with lime slices and cocktail forks.
Pickled Vegetables
Ingredients
1 cup rice vinegar
1/4 cup white sugar
3 tablespoon kosher salt
2 large carrots, julienned
1/4 of a daikon radish, julienned
(you want the carrot and daikon quantities to be roughly equal
Procedure
Heat 1 cup of water in a pot until it's on the cusp of boiling and remove from heat. Dissolve the sugar, salt and vinegar into the hot water until the salt and sugar granules have completely disappeared.
In a resealable container, pour picking liquid over your carrots and daikon and wait about 24 hours before using. They'll stay good for weeks but will begin to lose their color after about one so don't be precious with them and find little ways to use the leftovers throughout your weeks as garnishes.