Monday 27 August 2012

Banh Mi with a Twist

Have you ever eaten a Vietnamese Banh Mi? It's a delicious, fresh sandwich made with cilantro, fresh cucumbers, pickled carrots, and sauteed pork on a baguette. At least that's the kind of Banh Mi I've tasted!

My burger style Banh Mi is a little unconventional, but it's easy, delicious, and all the Vietnamese flavours in the original sandwich shine through. I just hope you're hungry when you try it because you might want seconds. :)

Easy Banh Mi Burger

4 burger buns
4 chicken burger patties
2 carrots, julienned or grated
2 tablespoons + 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup white vinegar
1/2 of 1 cucumber, julienned
1/3 bunch of fresh cilantro, roughly chopped
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon chili garlic sauce
2 teaspoons fish sauce
2 teaspoons sesame oil
Lime wedges, for squeezing

1. Start with preparing your pickled carrots. Put the carrots in a medium bowl and toss them with 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar and the salt. In about 3 minutes they will begin to loose water and soften. The water will pool at the bottom of the bowl and the carrots will bend in half without snapping when they're ready.

2. Drain the water from the carrots and rinse them under cold water. Then, in the same bowl the carrots were in, combine the rest of the sugar with the vinegar, and 1/4 cup of water. Stir to dissolve the sugar and add the carrots. Let the mixture sit for about 20 minutes, stirring the carrots around occasionally. Drain the carrots from the vinegar when they're fully pickled and set aside.

3. Then grill your burger patties. I know that pork is more authentic for a Banh Mi, but chicken is much healthier, so I used chicken. Feel free to use pork if you like.

4. While your burgers are grilling, combine the mayonnaise, chili garlic sauce, fish sauce, and sesame oil in a small bowl. Set aside.

5. When your burgers are finished on the grill, make them into Banh Mi Burgers. Spread a little of the Asian mayonnaise on each bottom bun, top with the grilled chicken burger, follow up with some fresh cucumber, pickled carrots, and fresh cilantro. Enjoy!

I think this burger was the first cheese-less burger I ate where I didn't miss the cheese. Honestly, it was that good!

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