Hello! Hi everyone, Wesley here. Today we're diving back into our series dedicated to series dedicated to Vietnamese classics with a shot at what very likely might be one of the most iconic pieces of Vietnamese cuisine in existence, which is the banh mi sandwich. Iconically the banh mi is known in my experience as a cheap bodega sandwich often found in cornerstores in asian neighborhoods for five bucks or less (I'm not exaggerating, when I was a kid, my dad used to pick these up in SF Chinatown for $2.50, which is wild, even for 90s pricing, given all of the things that are in this sandwich. it should be like, 5x the price).
For those unfamiliar, the Vietnamese banh mi has (as you might expect) an endless number of variations that can be toyed around with. Most iconcially though, it contains a pickled daikon and carrot, topped with raw jalepeno, cucumber, and cilantro, then wrapped inside of (and this is critical) a soft French baguette roll. The banh mi can be paired with just, a whole slew of different meats and proteins that you may choose from. Amongst some of my favorites are the duck pate banh mi, grilled sausage, lemongrass tofu, char siu pork, and many, many more. For our own version today though, we'll be making my personal all time favorite banh mi, which is a grilled lemongrass chicken, done today using a wok sear (in lieu of that grill), because...I don't have a grill. Hope you try it.
Serves 2-3
INGREDIENTS
5 chicken thighs
3 medium carrots
1/2 cucumber
1 small daikon
1 bunch cilantro
French baguette rolls
kewpie mayo
Siracha
peanut oil
INGREDIENTS (marinade)
4 tbsp fish sauce
2 lemongrass stalks
4 tbsp low sodium soy sauce (or 2 tbsp full sodium soy sauce)
1/2 lime juice
2 tbsp brown sugar
4 cloves garlic
INGREDIENTS (brine)
2 tbsp sugar
1/2 cup rice vinegar
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
kosher salt
PREP
JULIENNE the carrots, set aside
JULIENNE the carrots, set aside
SLICE the cucumber into planks, set aside
CRUSH 4 cloves of garlic, then add to a large mixing bowl
REMOVE the outer layer of the lemongrass stalks, then bruise with the back of a knife mince, and add to a large mixing bowl
ADD the remaining marinade ingredients to the mixing bowl, combine with the chicken thighs and let marinate for 30 minutes
ON THE STOVE
ADD all brine ingredients to a medium saucepan over medium heat, and bring to a simmer
REMOVE from heat, combine with the carrots and daikon, and let rest for 30 minutes or ideally 24 hours
HEAT a wok over medium high heat, then add 4 tbsp peanut oil and long yao
ADD the chicken thigh 2-3 pieces at a time and sear for 2-3 minutes per side until 160F internally
TOAST the French baguette roll, then slice open and finish with kewpie mayo, Siracha, pickled slaw, cucumber, cilantro, and chicken thigh