This Korean pork banh mi has Korean spiced meatballs cooked until crisp on the outside then topped with gochujang mayo, carrot and cucumber ribbons and delicious quick pickled onions.
Put the vinegar, sugar, salt and peppercorns into a small saucepan and bring to the boil. Simmer until the sugar and salt have dissolved then remove from the heat. Place the onion slices into a collander, put over the sink and pour boiling water over them. Place the onion slices into a jar then pour the vinegar over them. Leave to cool then pickle in the fridge for as long as you have.
To make the meatballs.
Preheat the oven to 200°C. Place the pork mince, garlic, gochujang, gochugaru and a sprinkling of salt and pepper into a large bowl and mix together with a wooden spoon. Divide into medium sized meatballs, I got about 10 from this mixture. Heat the vegetable oil into a pan and heat over a medium high heat. Cook the meatballs for 3 minutes on each side then place in the oven for 5 minutes to finish cooking.
To Serve
Mix the mayonnaise with the gochujang. Slice the baguettes open and spread the bottom half with the mayo mixture. Use a vegetable peeler to make ribbons from the cucumber and carrot. Once you take the meatballs from the oven divide them between the baguettes (I had a couple left over, good for snacking!). Top with the cucumber, carrot, pickled onion slices, coriander and a squeeze of lime juice. Serve with more lime wedges.