There’s a passion for pork all across Canada and one of the more interesting recipes that we came across when looking for some holiday party ideas was from PEI’s Chef Ilona Daniel. Her recipe for Pork Bahn Mi Navajo Tacos is extremely tasty and combines a few different cultures in one delicious dish. We first met Chef Daniel at the Canadian Chefs Congress in 2010 and have been keeping in touch with her as she’s both an inspiration in our cooking and has that zest for life we love too!

Her moto is: “Eat something local today!”

There’s a number of steps to this, but it’s totally worth it!

Lemongrass-Basil Cream

¼ cup mayonnaise
1 cup sour cream
4 tbsp lemongrass paste
½ cup chiffonade of basil
1 jalapeno, seeded, cut into a very fine dice (brunoise)
1 tsp salt
2 cloves of garlic, smashed into a paste

Combine all ingredients into a bowl, and then put into a squeeze bottle, or spoon directly over Navajo Fry Bread Bahn Mi.

Do Chua

1 small daikon, cut into julienne
2 carrots, cut into small daikon
1 cup water
½ cup vinegar
½ cup sugar
1 tbsp kosher salt.

Pack veggies into a jar with a fitted lid. Boil remaining ingredients until sugar and salt are dissolved. Pour over veggies. Pickles ready to eat in 20 minutes, and good for up to 2 weeks

Navajo Fry Bread

Makes approximately 12 pieces

3 c unbleached flour, sifted
1/2 c dry powdered milk
1 Tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 c warm water or milk
2 quarts oil for deep frying

Combine all ingredients except for the oil in a large mixing bowl and knead until smooth and soft, but not sticky, I find a kitchen stand mixer to be an invaluable tool to use if you have it (use the dough hook attachment). Depending on the altitude, temperature and humidity, you may need to adjust the liquid or the flour, so go slowly. Do not overmix the dough. Place in oiled bowl and let rest 20 minutes with a damp cloth covering it.

Divide the dough into portions roughly the size of an egg, and if you are making appetizer sized fry bread, use half the amount.

Heat oil to 375, and place disks of dough which are slightly thinner in the middle into hot oil. Use tongs and a spider to manoeuver dough in the oil to shape dough into a taco shell shape if desired. When the bread is golden, and bubbled over the surface, remove from oil, and allow excess to drip off. Place frybread on a cooling rack lined with paper towel to absorb remaining oil, and maintain crisp texture

How to assemble Bahn Mi Navajo Fry Bread Tacos:

On top of the fry bread, place lemongrass pork, Do Chua, sliced Jalapenos, Basil & Lemongrass Cream, Sriracha & Cilantro Sprigs.