Banh mi bowlin’. The crispy chicken obsession continues. Remember when we made those crispy chicken carnitas and I told you this was my newest obsession? You already knew that something like this was bound to happen, didn’t you? Well, it happened. We’re taking the classic banh mi sandwiches we love, subtracting the baguette (but it’s sooo good and sooo carby ?) and adding in crispy chicken and serving it over white or brown rice (or dare I say, noodles?) while we pile on those pickled vegetables, English cucumber, jalapeños, sprinkle it with fresh cilantro and drizzle on that spicy sriracha mayo. I live for sauce. And while we’re talking about these banh mi bowls – friends, you can certainly use this stuff and make banh mi sandwiches if you’re a food purist and can’t even IMAGINE why anyone would want to turn banh mi into a bowl. And if you embrace the fusion food lyfe then how about banh mi tacos? Yes. Definitely, let’s do that. It all starts with crispy chicken. The center, the core, the rock of this recipe. We’ll start with a homemade liquid mix that the chicken will cook in, it’s just equal parts lemongrass paste, fish sauce, sugar, sriracha, and rice vinegar along with a quarter cup of low sodium soy sauce and voila! That’s that. If fish sauce really isn’t your thing, that’s cool, I get that. Leave it out, this recipe is pretty forgiving in that way! Now season the chicken with salt and pepper and do a quick sear on the chicken to hold in all the juices. For the aromatics, I add an onion that’s been quartered, a few cloves of garlic, a jalapeño thats been sliced and a handful of cilantro. Push it all around the pot to really bring out those flavors. Add the chicken and the cooking liquid back in and pressure cook the chicken until it’s cooked through. This takes about 10-12 minutes depending on the thickness of the chicken breasts. What you get are these tender chicken breasts infused with all the flavorings we put in and that chicken shreds so easily. Once that’s done, we’ll drizzle it with those juices it cooked in and a tablespoon of sesame oil and into the oven it goes to broil for a few minutes. What you get is this incredibly crispy chicken that’s caramelized from the sugar on the outside and yet tender and juicy on the inside. ⬇️⬇️⬇️ Now about those quick pickled veggies. Really, I should’ve told you about these first because you’ll need to let them sit and hangout for a while to really soften and grab onto that the pickling brine, but that chicken! I just couldn’t resist starting with it! The pickled veggies are easy breezy! They MAKE the banh mi bowls what they are. The vinegary slash sweet slash salty taste is exactly what that chicken needs. You’ll need equal parts water and rice vinegar with some sugar and a good bit of salt to make the pickling liquid. I used daikon radishes and carrots that I ribboned using a super basic peeler. Not into ribbons? You can buy those julienned carrots if you aren’t interested in all that peeling, it’ll work just as well. You can even use a mandoline and make thin circles. All of these methods will work. To assemble, start with your base – rice, quinoa, noodles, farro, or my personal favorite, chopped cabbage mix. I’m obsessed with that stuff! We almost always have some in the fridge and since i’m constantly trying to lower my carb intake (which, take it from someone who knows is 10x as hard if you’re asian!), I swap half the rice for cabbage mix and guys! It’s so freshy fresh in this bowl. It gives these banh mi bowls an element of crunch that’s light and refreshing. I don’t know, it just all goes together well. Try it! You’ll add on the crispy banh mi chicken, pile on your pickled veggies, add your herbs, sliced jalapeños and then do a big drizzle of sriracha mayo because what is ANYTHING without sauce? You can make your own (it’s just a few tablespoons sriracha with 1/2 cup of mayo) or grab a squeeze bottle of that stuff from your international food aisle. I made a little over a pound of this stuff and it disappeared in a flash. Crispy chicken that’s great in bowls, works well for a banh mi salads, sandwiches, tacos, and pretty much any other way you want to serve it! Bowls are my weekday lifeline // lightened up comfort food. Banh mi bowls are everythang.
To make the ribbons, use a regular vegetable peeler and peel the way you normally would, turning the vegetable slightly after every peel. You can also use a mandoline to make the ribbons or simply make circles. Thinly sliced daikon radishes + matchstick carrots would also work! I found Lemongrass paste from Gourmet Garden in the refrigerated section of the grocery store. Equal quantities of freshly minced lemongrass can also be used. Fish sauce is optional. You can easily omit it from this recipe if you don’t care for the flavor. To make your own sriracha mayo: combine 2-4 tablespoons of sriracha (depending on your spice preference) with 1/2 cup of mayonnaise and a pinch of garlic powder. Stir to combine. Pour into a squeeze bottle, it’s easier to serve that way!
