Grilled Chicken Banh Mi with Pickled Vegetables

The first time I encounter with this popular Vietnamese Sandwich was in California. We were at Westminster and we had our lunch at the famous Lee Sandwich place and I was hooked. I love the taste of the fresh grilled meat, the sweet, sour, crunchy pickle vegetables, sandwich between the light and crispy baguette. Here is my homemade version on the famous sandwich.

Ingredients:

2 pieces chicken breast - skin and fat removes

Marinate:

2 cloves garlic - chopped
2 tbsp fish sauce
1 tsp sugar
Black pepper

Mix chicken and marinate together and set it aside for an hour. Heat up a frying pan, add in about 2 tbsp of olive oil and pan fried the chicken over medium heat until done on both sides. Remove and let it stand for 5 minutes before slicing it.

Ingredients for Pickle Vegetables:

2 carrots – peel and sliced thinly
1 large English cucumber – peels and sliced thinly
2 red chilies – sliced thinly
1/4 cup vinegar
1/2 cup water
1/4cup sugar
½ tsp salt

In a small saucepan, bring the water, vinegar, sugar and salt to a boil. Transfer the brine to a large bowl and let cool to room temperature. Add the carrots, cucumber, chilies and cover to keep them submerged. Refrigerate the vegetables for at least 30 mins before using.

Condiments:

2 petit baguette roll – about 6 – 7”
2 – 3 sprig of cilantro
Some mayonnaise
Some chili sauce
Some pickle vegetables

1. Slit the bread lengthwise, discard a bit of the bread on the inside. If necessary, crisp up the bread in a toaster oven and then let it cool for a minute before proceeding.
2. Generously spreading the inside with mayonnaise and chili sauce. Add in the grill meat, pickles and some cilantro. Close the sandwich cut it into half for easy eating and enjoy!

Note: You can replace the grill chicken with grill pork, beef or any type of protein. As for the pickle it can be replace with daikon.