We introduced you to bánh mì xíu mại or meatballs sandwich, pickled carrots and daikon radish accompaniment and homemade garlic mayonnaise in earlier posts. The next key essential ingredient to assemble a true Vietnamese bánh mì is to make pork pâté. This meat spread gives the sandwich a unique flavor and can be easily eaten alone with bread. My favorite thing to eat for breakfast is to have toasted bread spread with delicious pâté and mayonnaise and top with a fried egg and a splash of soy sauce. This pâté is so easy to make and so scrumptious that you cannot stop eating it.

Difficulty: Easy / Serving: 6 cups / Time: 1.5 hours to make and 8 hours to set

Ingredients:

2 pound of ground pork

½ pound of pork liver (if you cannot find pork liver, you can substitute with chicken liver)

15 cloves of garlic

3 teaspoons of sugar

1 ½ teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons of ground black pepper

1 ½ cups of canola oil

Directions:

Mince 15 cloves of garlic in the food processor. (Garlic helps mask the smell of the pork and adds a ton of flavors to this pâté. You can also reduce the garlic to 10 cloves if you do not like the strong garlic flavor.)

Add 1/2 pound of pork liver to the food processor and pulse to liquefy.

Add 2 pounds of ground pork, 1 ½ teaspoon salt, 3 teaspoons of sugar, 2 tablespoons of ground pepper and pulse to incorporate.

Pour the meat mixture into a heatproof pan and steam for 1 hour. (Tip: If you do not have a steamer, you can cook the meat mixture in a pan on a stove top. Steaming draws out the fat and keeps the meat mixture moist.)

Move the meat mixture (without the excess juice) to the food processor. Add 1.5 cups of canola oil while you puree the meat mixture.

Pour the meat mixture into containers and allow the pâté to set in the fridge for at least 8 hours or until the mixture becomes firm. (Tip: A trick to easily remove the pate is to place plastic wrap at the bottom of the container before pouring the mixture into it.)