Air Fryer Tofu Banh Mi
These Air Fryer Tofu Banh Mi are loaded with flavor. A fresh baguette packed with crispy, air fryer tofu, fresh and pickled vegetables and sriracha mayo. They can also be made as rice bowls!
I’m so excited about this recipe! I’ve been wanting to share a banh mi recipe forever, but just hadn’t quite made one that was blog-worthy. Banh Mi is one of those foods that a crave often and I’m so glad that I now have a go-to recipe to make at home!
What is Banh Mi?
Banh Mi is a Vietnamese sandwich served on a baguette. Traditional banh mi includes meat, often pork, a variety of fresh and pickled vegetables and some sort of sauce or condiment like mayonnaise. In Vietnamese “Banh Mi” actually means “bread”, so it is easy to see why there is so much variety between banh mi sandwiches.
What goes into Air Fryer Tofu Banh Mi?
So what goes into this loaded sandwich?
Bread – a hearty, white baguette that is hard enough to hold all of the fillings, but soft enough to easily bite and eat as a sandwich.
Air fryer Tofu – the protein and the star of this banh mi. Using the air fryer is an easy way to make crispy, delicious tofu. The tofu is double coated in a soy-hoisin-ginger-garlic sauce – one coat before it goes into the air fryer and one after for extra saucy goodness!
Fresh Veggies – thinly sliced cucumbers, radishes and jalapeños give it a nice crunch and fresh flavor.
Pickled Veggies – in my opinion you can’t call it a banh mi without them. Pickled carrots and red onions give it tremendous flavor.
Avocado – included for a creamier texture and because avocado makes everything better!
Sriracha Mayo – just oh so delicious and gives it a creamy kick!
Garnish – to make it extra pretty and extra delicious add fresh cilantro and black sesame seeds 🙂
You can make them as Rice Bowls instead of Sandwiches
Surprise! Today is your lucky day because this is a 2-for-1 recipe deal (insert praise-hands emoji here)… You’re Welcome!
Though traditionally Banh Mi is a sandwich, like literally it means bread… all of it’s fillings also work really well in rice bowls. So if you aren’t feeling a sandwich, it is just as delicious in a rice bowl. I love it both ways, something about biting into that baguette and getting all of the flavors in one bite cannot be beat. But, I do love that with a rice bowl you can add as many toppings as you want and you don’t have to worry about them falling out of your sandwich! So I’ll be switching back and forth between sandwich and rice bowl and I hope you’ll try both!
(this rice bowl uses my Cilantro Lime Rice)
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Air Fryer Tofu Banh Mi
- Yield: 4 1x
Ingredients
Pickled Red Onions and Carrots
2 cups carrots, julienne cut
1 cup red onion, sliced thin
2 cups rice wine vinegar
warm water
2 tbsp white sugar
2 tsp salt
Air Fryer Tofu
1 brick extra firm tofu (14oz in water, drained)
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup hoisin sauce
1 tbsp lime juice
1 tbsp ginger paste
2 large cloves garlic, minced
Sriracha Mayo
1/2 cup mayonnaise
2 tbsp sriracha
Banh Mi Sandwiches
1 large baguette, sliced into 4 6-inch pieces
Sriracha Mayo
1 cup cucumbers, sliced thin
1/2 cup radishes, sliced thin
1/4 cup jalapeño, sliced thin
Air Fryer Tofu
1 large avocado, sliced thin
Pickled Red Onions and Carrots
Fresh Cilantro
Black Sesame Seeds
Banh Mi Rice Bowls
*Same ingredients as the sandwiches, but substitute Cilantro Lime Rice for the baguette
Instructions
Pickled Red Onion and Carrots
Add the carrots and red onions to a large mason jar*
Pour the vinegar over the vegetables
Add the sugar and salt
Pour in enough warm water to cover all of the vegetables and fill the jar to the top
Put the lid tightly on the jar, shake
Put the jar in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours, better overnight
Air Fryer Tofu (for sandwich)
Press the tofu**
Slice the pressed tofu in half vertically, slice the 2 halves each into 4 pieces about 1/2″ wide, giving you 8 long thin pieces of tofu
In a shallow bowl combined the soy sauce, lime juice, hoisin sauce, ginger paste and garlic
Preheat the air fryer for 5 minutes at 400°F
Dip each piece of tofu into the soy mixture to coat
When the air fryer is ready, spray the basket with non-stick cooking spray
Add 4 pieces*** of tofu to the basket, make sure they are not touching
Air fry for 5 minutes
Flip the tofu and air fry for 5 more minutes on the other side
Dip the tofu back into the soy mixture to coat, set aside to cool
Repeat with the remaining pieces of tofu
Air Fryer Tofu (for Rice Bowls)
Follow all the same instructions as the tofu for sandwiches, except slice the tofu into 1-inch cubes instead of the long, thin stripes (when cut this way you can fit all the tofu into the basket of the air fryer**** at once)
Sriracha Mayo
Combine the mayonnaise and sriracha in a small bowl*****
Banh Mi (Sandwiches)
Slice open the baguette pieces
Spread a layer of sriracha mayo on the top and bottom
Line the bottom with a layer of cucumber, radish and a few jalapeño slices
Layer in the tofu****** (2 pieces per sandwich)
Add slices of avocado on top of the tofu
Top with a generous helping of pickled red onion and carrots
Garnish with cilantro and black sesame seeds
Banh Mi Rice Bowls
Divide the rice between 4 serving bowls
Top each with pieces of tofu
Add cucumber, radish and jalapeno slices as you like around the bowls
Top with pickled red onions and carrots and avocado slices
Drizzle with sriracha mayo
Garnish with cilantro and black sesame seeds
Notes
*can use any kind of glass jar with a lid
**Best done using a tofu press. If you don’t have one, you can wrap the tofu brick in paper towels and put something heavy on top to press it down (like a book or a pot with an unopened can of beans in it)
***4 fit in a 6-quart air fryer
****assuming 6-quart air fryer
*****add more or less sriracha depending on your spice preference
******you may need to cut it to fit appropriately depending on the slice of your baguette
Keywords: #airfryertofu, #airfryerrecipes, #banhmibowls, #banhmirecipes, #tofubanhmi
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If you make this Air Fryer Tofu Banh Mi, let me know how you like it! Leave a comment here and/or give it a star rating! If you snap a photo I’d love to see it – share it over on Instagram and tag me @sprinklesandseasalt!
OTHER AIR FRYER RECIPES YOU WILL LOVE:
Air Fryer Cinnamon Sugar French Toast