Inspired by the popular Vietnamese banh mì sandwich, this grilled pizza is bursting with fresh and lively flavour from crunchy pickled veggies, gingery pork, and fiery mayo sauce. No pizza oven is required when you have a grill. Flatbreads are an easy pizza base, but you could be more adventurous and grill formed pizza dough.
Hot stuff
Preheat your grill on high heat for 10 minutes and then lower it to the desired level for cooking. Getting your grill grates very hot reduces the risk of foods sticking to the grates and also imbues meats with those nice char marks.
This recipe was originally published in the June 2025 issue of alive magazine.
Banh Mi Grilled Pizza
Ingredients
- 1 lime
- 2 Tbsp (30 mL) soy sauce
- 1 Tbsp (15 mL) sesame oil
- 1 Tbsp (15 mL) fish sauce
- 1 garlic clove, peeled and grated or finely minced
- 1 Tbsp (15 mL) grated or finely minced gingerroot
- 1 Tbsp (15 mL) honey
- 1 lb (454 g) pork tenderloin
- 1 Tbsp (15 mL) sugar
- 1 tsp (5 mL) salt
- 1/2 cup (125 mL) rice vinegar
- 1 cup (250 mL) matchstick-cut carrots
- 1 cup (250 mL) matchstick-cut cucumber
- 1/2 cup (125 mL) thinly sliced radish
- 1/4 cup (60 mL) mayonnaise
- 2 Tbsp (30 mL) gochujang paste or sriracha chili sauce
- 2 large flatbreads (or 4 small)
- 1 1/2 cups (350 mL) grated pizza mozzarella
- 1/3 cup (80 mL) cilantro
- 2 green onions, sliced
Directions
01
In shallow container, whisk together juice of 1/2 lime, soy sauce, fish sauce, sesame oil, garlic, ginger, and honey. Add pork to container, cover, and let marinade in the refrigerator for 4 hours or up to 12 hours, flipping pork once.
02
In separate container, whisk sugar and salt with 3 Tbsp (45 mL) hot water until sugar is dissolved. Stir in rice vinegar. Add carrots, cucumber, and radish; toss to coat and let sit for at least 30 minutes.
03
In small bowl, stir together mayonnaise and gochujang or sriracha.
04
Build medium-hot fire in charcoal grill, or heat gas grill to medium. Grease grill grates. Place pork tenderloin on grill, and cook, flipping only once, until internal temperature reaches 145 F (63 C), 5 to 7 minutes per side. Let pork rest for 10 minutes and then thinly slice.
05
Brush both sides of flatbreads with oil. Place flatbreads on grill grate and heat until crispy and darkened on bottom, about 2 minutes. Be careful not to burn bread. Remove flatbreads from grill and top heated sides with pork and cheese. Return flatbreads to grill and heat until cheese is melted and undersides of flatbreads are darkened and crispy. Remove flatbreads from grill and top with pickled vegetables, green onion, and cilantro. Drizzle on chili mayo and then squeeze remaining lime juice overtop.
Matthew Kadey, MSc, RD, is a dietitian, nutrition writer, and recipe developer. He is also the author of Rocket Fuel (VeloPress, 2016) and Muffin Tin Chef (Ulysses Press, 2012).
