Making Grilled Chicken Banh Mi

I’ve never tasted daikon (I stared at it for too long and it reminded me of the radish spirit in Spirited Away) or even had a banh mi, for that matter, so I’m pretty glad someone made this foodwish. So here it is, as requested by Anon - I hope it doesn’t disappoint.

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To address the woes of the use of sesame buns, here is an apology from yours truly. The recipe did say to use baguettes but there were none that day in the supermarket (shocking, I know) and so I thought this would make a suitable substitute. Apparently I was wrong - it won’t happen again.

On another note, if you Google “Grilled Chicken Banh Mi”, this post will come up as #6 #3 on the list so I’m pretty psyched about that.

Proceed for recipe:

GRILLED CHICKEN BANH MI (original recipe from Food Wolf)

5 SPICE GRILLED CHICKEN:

[ 2 boneless, skinless chicken breast (or thighs, if that’s what you prefer) + 1 1/2 tablespoon soy sauce + 2 garlic cloves, minced + 2 shallots, sliced thinly + 1/2 tablespoon fish sauce + 1 teaspoon sugar + 1/2 teaspoon 5 spice powder ] OPTIONAL: Salt & pepper

Mix all the ingredients except the chicken and put into a ziploc bag.

Add chicken and turn to coat. Let marinade at room temperatur for 30 minutes - 1 hour.

Meanwhile, make the pickled vegetables:

PICKLED CARROTS & DAIKON:

[ 1/4 cup sugar + 1/4 cup distilled white vinegar + 1/8 teaspoon salt + 1 cup daikon, cut into matchstick-size pieces + 1 cups carrot, cut into matchstick-size pieces ] OPTIONAL: 1/2 teaspoon dried red chilli pepper flakes.

Whisk first 3 ingredients in a large bowl until dissolved. Add daikon and carrots; toss to coat. Let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes to 1 hour.

While you’re waiting for the chicken to marinate and the carrots and daikon to pickle, prepare the rest of the ingredients for the banh mi.

ASSEMBLE WITH:

[ 2-3 tablespoons of your favorite mayonnaise + 1-2 teaspoons of Sriracha hot sauce + 1 cucumber + a handful of cilantro sprigs + 2 6-inch baguettes or rolls ]

Combine the mayonnaise with the sriracha sauce and set aside.

Slice the cucumber thinly and give the cilantro a good rinse and set aside.

Brush the bread with a little olive oil and grill the bread until just toasted.

Finish the chicken & pickled vegetables:

Preheat Broiler.

Cook chicken approx. 6-minutes per side. Check that meat isn’t pink inside before removing from heat.

Transfer to plate; tent with foil to keep the meat warm. When ready to serve, slice.

After the time has lapsed, drain the carrots and daikon well and set aside.

SANDWICH MIS-EN-PLACE:

[ Toasted bread + spicy mayonnaise + sliced cucumbers + 5 spice grilled chicken + pickled vegetables + cilantro sprigs ]

Spread spicy mayonnaise on bottom half of bread.

Top with cucumber slices. Fill sandwich with the meat of one chicken breast (or thigh, if that’s what you have), drained daikon and carrot and cilantro sprigs.