The Best Vietnamese Pate for Banh Mi

5 from 5 ratings

The Best Vietnamese Pate for Banh Mi

A banh mi sandwich is not complete without Vietnamese Pate. While I normally purchase this condiment, I found the process of making it at home so much tastier and satisfying. This addictive pate recipe will have you coming back for more again and again (speaking from personal experience).

Prep Time1

Cook Time1 30

Resting Time4

Total Time6 30

Course: Sauces & Seasonings

Cuisine: Vietnamese

Keyword: vietnamese pate, vietnamese pate recipe

Servings: people

Calories: 409kcal

Author: Becca Du

Equipment

Ingredients

⅓ lb pork liver cut into 1 inch pieces, see note 1
2 oz baguette cut into 1 inch pieces, see note 2
2 cups whole milk divided
½ lb pork fat cut into small pieces, divided, see note 4
2 tbsp vegetable oil divided, see note 3
2 shallots minced, divided
10 cloves garlic minced, divided
1 tsp salt divided
2 tbsp unsalted butter divided
½ tsp five spice powder divided
⅓ lb ground pork
2 tsp granulated sugar
2 tsp pepper
1 egg

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Prepping your ingredients

Add the liver and bread to separate bowls. Divide the milk evenly between both bowls and soak for 30 minutes.
While the liver and bread are soaking, mince the shallots, garlic, and ¼ pound of the pork fat. Set aside.
Once the liver and bread have soaked for 30 minutes, pour out the milk from both bowls, rinse the liver thoroughly, and squeeze the milk out from the bread. Set aside.

Cooking and blending the ingredients

Heat 1 tbsp of vegetable oil over medium high heat. Saute ½ the minced shallots for 30 seconds until shiny. Add ½ the garlic and saute for 15 seconds until shiny. Season with ½ tsp of salt.
Add 1 tbsp butter, liver, and ¼ tsp five spice powder. Saute for 15-30 seconds until the liver is a light brown color and remove from the heat. Set aside. Do not cook the liver for too long or else it will make the pate too brown.
Using the same pan, heat 1 tbsp of vegetable oil over medium high heat. Add the last half of the shallots and cook for 30 seconds. Add the last half of the garlic and saute for 15 seconds.
Add the minced pork fat, ground pork, ¼ tsp of five spice powder, ½ tsp salt, 1 tbsp of butter, sugar, and pepper. Cook for 2 minutes until the pork is a light brown color and remove from the heat. Set aside.
Now it's time to blend everything together! Add the liver mixture, ground pork mixture, bread, and egg to a blender. Blend until a smooth consistency forms. Make sure you are using a good blender for this! Don't be afraid to do this in batches.

Steaming your pate

Grease a small 4.5 x 8 inch loaf pan with butter and line with parchment paper.
Prep your steamer by bringing some water to a simmer and placing the steamer insert into your pan. If the steamer is too deep, place a small bowl upside down in the steamer. This will make it easier to extract your loaf pan once the pate done.
Spoon your pate into the prepared loaf pan. Place the last half of the pork fat or bacon on top and cover tightly with aluminum foil. Steam for 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean.
Let it cool down to room temperature (2-3 hours) and put it in the fridge for at least 2 hours before serving.

Notes

Pork liver substitute. Pork liver can be substituted with chicken liver.
Baguette substitutes. This can be substituted with wheat bread, white bread, and sourdough bread.
Vegetable oil substitutes. Vegetable oil can be substituted with grapeseed oil or olive oil.
Pork fat. It's hard to find pork by itself at the store, so use fat from bacon (what I used) or pork fat from a different cut like pork belly, pork butt, or pork shoulder. You can use the extra strips of bacon to top the pate with.

Nutrition