Basic ingredients:

• bread
• grilled tofu
• pickled stuff (do chua)
• mayonnaise
• cilantro
• sliced jalapeño

That seems like a lot of work already, but the idea is to get the separate ingredients ready one at a time before you eat the sandwich. When you are hungry, you can just throw the elements together at the last minute.

Bread: Just get some bread you like. This was a nice loaf from the grocery store. I like to tear out a little of the bread on the top slice so I can fit in more filling.

Grilled tofu: Again, just use something you like. It could be store bought. In our case, we slice up a block of extra firm tofu and
marinate it in soy sauce or fish sauce and give it a little spice rub. Then we pat it dry, give it a quick brush of oil and grill it. You can
also bake it in a low oven until it gets to the sort of texture you like.

Pickled stuff: This time we used carrots, cucumbers, and radishes. Just cut them up how you like (julienne would be most traditional).
There are thousands of recipes for do chua on the web. There really is no wrong way to make it. I like to salt the vegetables and knead them for a few minutes in a colander to extract the water. Give them a quick rinse (don’t wash off all the salt) and into the brine. For the brine, I use about a ratio of 1 to 1/2 to 1/2 of vinegar, water, and sugar. The pickles should last about a week in the refrigerator.

Mayonnaise: You can just use plain mayonnaise, but we like to mix in some Thai garlic-chili paste and sometimes a little soy or fish sauce.

Cilantro is a must and the jalapeños add a spicy crunch. You can always add sriracha if it isn’t hot enough.

Then just pile everything together and eat it. Your sandwich may not look quite as ominous as this one, but it should taste just as good.