AS THE WEATHER warms, we bid adieu to raw wild oysters. For the next few months they’ll be on the spawn. Hence the old adage about not eating oysters in months without an “R”: May, June, July, August.

Like most adages, there’s some truth at the heart of the matter, though in this age of carefully farmed shellfish, not a month goes by that you can’t eat a tasty oyster from the market. When wild oysters put their energy and fat reserves into sexual reproduction, however, their flesh becomes thin, watery, or even milky as the the reproductive organs take center stage. The milkiness is particularly off-putting to someone looking to slurp a raw oyster.

While spawning oysters are not choice, they’re not poisonous either, and so I cook my wild oysters in the warm months. A Vietnamese-style Bánh Mì sandwich is just the ticket.

2 individual baguettes
1 dozen small to medium-sized oysters
1/2 cup panko or breadcrumbs
1/4 cup flour
1 egg, beaten
2 tbsp butter

Sauce
sweet chili sauce, such as Mae Ploy
mayonnaise
hot sauce

1 small cucumber, peeled and sliced
1 small carrot, julienne
several lettuce leaves
cilantro

1. To make sauce, mix together equal amounts of sweet chili sauce and mayonnaise. Add hot sauce to taste.

2. Flour oysters, then dip in egg and dredge in panko or breadcrumbs.

3. Fry oysters in butter over medium heat. Remove to paper towels.

4. Slice baguettes lengthwise. Slather with sauce. Arrange oysters and fixings.