Banh Mi Ga ~ Vietnamese Chicken Sandwich
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Serves: 6 sandwiches
 
Adapted from Andrea Nguyen
Ingredients
BANH MI SANDWICHES
  • 6 Vietnamese style baguettes
  • lemongrass grilled chicken
  • daikon carrot pickle
  • 1 large English cucumber, sliced in long slices/thin wedges
  • cilantro or mixed herbs
  • spicy mayonnaise
GRILLED LEMONGRASS CHICKEN
  • 2lbs/1kg boneless chicken breasts
  • 3 tablespoons brown sugar
  • 2 tablespoon chopped garlic
  • 2 tablespoon chopped shallot or yellow onion
  • 2 stalk lemongrass, trimmed and finely chopped
  • 2 teaspoon soy sauce
  • 3 tablespoon fish sauce
  • 2 tablespoon oil
CARROT DAIKON PICKLE
  • 1 large carrot, peeled and cut into thick matchsticks
  • 1 pound/454g daikon,around 2 inches in diameter, peeled and cut into thick matchsticks
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • ½ cup + 2 teaspoons sugar
  • 11/4 cups/230mL distilled white vinegar
  • 1 cup/230mL lukewarm water
Instructions
GRILLED LEMONGRASS CHICKEN
  1. Fire up the gas or charcoal grill (can use the oven too, 400℉/200℃ and finish on broil)
  2. Make deep gashes on the chicken breasts.
  3. Mix the brown sugar, garlic, onion, lemongrass, soy sauce, and fish sauce together in a bowl.
  4. Add the chicken breasts and marinate for at least an hour.
  5. The chicken will start taking on a nice brown colour.
  6. Remove the chicken from the marinade and toss in the oil.
  7. Place on the hot grill and cook.
  8. Grill until golden brown on the outside and cooked through, about 20/30 minutes.
  9. In the oven, bake until cooked through and then broil until brown and slightly charred.
  10. Let cool before slicing for sandwiches.
CARROT DAIKON PICKLE
  1. Place the carrot and daikons in a bowl and sprinkle with the salt and 2 teaspoons of the sugar
  2. Use your hands to knead the vegetables for about 3 minutes and releasing the water.
  3. Stop kneading when the daikon is flexible but does not break when bent.
  4. Drain in a colander and rinse under cold running water, then press gently to expel extra water.
  5. Return the vegetables to the bowl if you plan to eat them soon, or transfer them to a 1-quart jar for longer storage.
  6. To make the brine, in a bowl, combine the ½ cup sugar, the vinegar, and the water and stir to dissolve the sugar.
  7. Pour over the vegetables allowing the brine to cover the vegetables completely.
  8. Let the vegetables marinate in the brine for at least 1 hour before eating.
SPICY MAYONNAISE
  1. 1 cup mayonnaise
  2. Sriracha hot sauce or any preferred hot sauce, to taste
  3. Sweet garlic and chilli sauce, to taste
ASSEMBLING BANH MI
  1. Slice open a baguette and smear liberally with spicy mayonnaise.
  2. Add slices of grilled chicken.
  3. Stuff with cucumber slices, carrot daikon pickles and cilantro or choice of herbs.
  4. Enjoy!
Notes
The grilled lemongrass chicken is adapted from Andrea Nguyen recipe for her Grilled Lemongrass Pork In her recipe, she makes the marinade into a paste, I didn't and left everything whole. My marinade was still amazing with all the flavours transferring to the chicken beautifully. The carrot daikon recipe is also adapted from Andrea's recipe
Recipe by Coffee and Crumpets at http://www.coffeeandcrumpets.com/banh-mi-ga/