This recipe guides you through creating a flavorful and satisfying chicken banh mi, a Vietnamese sandwich with French influences. The banh mi is a symphony of textures and tastes, blending a crispy baguette with savory fillings, tangy pickled vegetables, fresh herbs, and a touch of heat. This version offers a homemade approach, adaptable to your preferences and readily available ingredients.
The banh mi essentially comprises five key elements: bread, meat filling, pickled vegetables, fresh vegetables, and a flavorful sauce or seasoning. Traditional banh mi often features Vietnamese cold cuts like pate or sliced pork roll, pickled carrots and daikon radish, cilantro, chilies, mayonnaise, and Maggi seasoning. This recipe retains those core elements while offering some creative modifications.
For the bread, a classic French baguette provides the perfect crispy exterior and airy interior. The star of this banh mi is a char siu-inspired chicken filling, marinated in a blend of savory and sweet flavors and then pan-fried to achieve a delicious char.
The pickled vegetables remain true to tradition, featuring carrots quick-pickled in a vinegar solution. A simple substitution of watermelon radish for daikon offers a slightly different but equally satisfying crunch. Fresh cilantro and cucumber add a refreshing element.
Instead of the traditional Maggi seasoning, this recipe uses fish sauce for a deeper umami flavor. A homemade chili-garlic honey adds a touch of sweetness and heat, complementing the richness of the chicken and the tanginess of the pickles. Mayonnaise provides the necessary moisture and creaminess to bind all the elements together.
This recipe utilizes a quick pickling method for the vegetables, which involves immersing thinly sliced carrots and watermelon radishes in a hot vinegar and water solution. This technique allows the vegetables to retain their crispness while absorbing the tangy flavors of the pickling liquid. The quick pickles can be stored in the refrigerator for several weeks and used in a variety of dishes.
Pickled carrots and watermelon radish
The char siu-inspired marinade for the chicken is simple to make. It consists of mayonnaise, hoisin sauce, sriracha, soy sauce, honey, Chinese five-spice powder, salt, black pepper, and minced garlic. The chicken is coated in the marinade and allowed to rest before being pan-fried to a beautiful golden brown.
Chicken marinating in char siu sauce
The chili-garlic honey is a delightful condiment that adds a unique layer of flavor to the banh mi. It’s made by crushing dried chilies in a mortar and pestle with salt, then adding garlic cloves and honey to create a paste. The sweetness of the honey balances the spiciness of the chilies and garlic.
Chili garlic honey paste
Assembling the banh mi is a straightforward process. The baguette is sliced lengthwise, and a small amount of the bread is scooped out to create more room for the fillings. Mayonnaise is spread on both halves of the bread, followed by the chili-garlic honey. Then, the chicken, pickled vegetables, cucumber, and cilantro are generously piled onto the bottom half of the baguette before topping with the other half.
Assembled banh mi sandwich
The final, and crucial step, is to cut the banh mi diagonally. This not only makes the sandwich easier to handle but also showcases the vibrant layers of fillings within. The result is a delicious and satisfying banh mi that offers a complete sensory experience, combining crunchy, chewy, sour, sweet, spicy, and salty flavors.
