Lemongrass Tofu Bahn Mi

French bread (I've substituted with Mexican Torta bread from Costco when I ran out - the Torta bread is yummalicious!)
Pickled carrots and daikon and jalapeno
Cilantro
Mayo
Pan fried lemongrass tofu

Toast the bread until it is warm and a little crunchy on the outside. Spread mayo on both sides. Assemble the lemongrass tofu and pickled carrots and daikon and jalapeno and sprinkle some cilantro and serve.

Pickling the vegetables
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Julian the carrots and daikon into hearty strips.
Bring one cup of water, 1/2 cup rice wine vinegar to a boil. Turn down the heat, add 6 tablespoons of sugar, and 2.5 teaspoons of salt. If you need more pickling liquid, use the same proportions.
Add the carrots to one jar, and the daikon to another jar. Do not overfill. Slice some jalapeno and add to each jar. For a little additional kick, add some Serrano pepper too. Pour the pickling liquid into each jar to fill.

Refrigerate for a few days. Ideally give it 2-3 days before using. They will last for at least a couple of weeks, but are so addictive that they won't last that long! You can pickle just about anything else using the same technique.

Lemongrass tofu
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Marinade
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2 stalks of lemongrass
4 cloves garlic
5 tablespoons soy sauce
a little salt and pepper to taste
Sambal oleck 2 teaspoons (make it 1 teaspoon if you're a wimp! :-))
Sesame oil 1 tablespoon
Vegetable oil half cup
Chili paste 3 teaspoons (reduce the quantity if you're a wimp! :-) )
Cilantro a handful

Dice the bulb of the lemongrass and the portion of the stalk that is tender.
Add all the ingredients to a small food processor to blend into a paste.

Take 1 packet extra-firm tofu, drain the liquid and pat dry with a paper towel. Cut into 1/2 inch cubes. Mix the tofu and a couple of tablespoons of the paste (to taste) in a bowl until the tofu is coated nicely. Let it marinate for an hour.

In a skillet, add a couple of tablespoons of oil, and when hot, add the tofu to the skillet. When golden brown, flip the tofu pieces to their other side (I flip all the pieces, one by one) and let the other side cook to a golden brown. Start off with high heat until the skillet heats up and then reduce the heat to a medium.