You'll love this easy Chicken Banh Mi, made with ingredients you can easily find at any grocery store! Nothing complicated, just a simple, delicious Vietnamese Sandwich with pickled carrots, beats Subway any day!
Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Easy Timesaver - ready to make in minutes using store bought Rotisserie Chicken or crispy Chicken Strips
- Flavorful - packed with Vietnamese flavor from pickled carrots, cucumber, chili, cilantro and mayo - this isn't your regular submarine sandwich
- Versatile - make it your own, change the meat to beef or pork, add extra heat or keep it mild
What is Banh Mi?
It's like a Vietnamese Subway sandwich, a fusion of Vietnamese fresh ingredients with a nod to its French colonial past. A crunchy baguette that's stuffed with meats, pate, pickled carrots, cucumber, cilantro and a tasty mayo. A delicious Vietnamese street food that's enjoyed around the world. Tastes fresh, and tasty, perfect for lunch.
Ingredients
- Vietnamese Rolls or a Baguette
- Mayo - spicy Sriracha Mayo boosts flavor
- Chicken - shredded roast chicken or crispy chicken strips
- Cucumber - sliced
- Pickled Carrots - or can grate carrots (but the pickling is amazing)
- Cilantro - include the stems for flavor
- Red Chili Pepper - thinly sliced
- Onions - optional: sliced green onions or red onions
- Maggi Seasoning - optional: can be sprinkled over before serving
How to Make Chicken Banh Mi
- Pickle Carrots - prepare the quick pickled carrots in advance. This should take about an hour to pickle.
- Prepare Chicken - shred rotisserie chicken and set aside. Alternatively, cook frozen chicken strips in air fryer (takes about 12 minutes).
- Prepare Ingredients - slice cucumbers, cilantro, chili peppers and green onions. Slice baguette in half, careful not to cut all the way through.
- Assemble Banh Mi - spread mayo on both sides of baguette. Layer with chicken, sliced cucumbers, a generously amount of pickled carrots, green onions, cilantro, and red chili peppers.
- Serve - optional: drizzle with a bit of Maggi seasoning. Enjoy immediately with your favorite sides.
Banh Mi Variations
- Vegetarian Banh Mi - skip the meat and grill tofu, mushrooms, or fried egg
- Pork Belly Banh Mi - this is one of my favorites - pork belly leftovers are delicious, especially the crispy bits
- Seafood Banh Mi - swap the chicken for grilled Snapper or grilled Shrimp
- Beef Banh Mi - try leftover roast beef, or marinate beef strips in soy sauce, garlic, lemongrass and fish sauce
The Secret is the Pickled Carrots!
Pickled Carrots add the tang to the Banh Mi. Often made 50/50 with carrots and daikon radish. The sweet and tangy carrots cut through the meats with a hit of Asian freshness. Takes minutes to prepare, ready to eat in an hour. Don't skip this for an authentic flavor.
Recipe Tips and FAQs
- Bread Rolls - Vietnamese rolls can be hard to find, substitute with your favorite bread rolls, baguettes, hoagie, hot dog buns, ciabatta
- Toast It - toasting rolls adds flavor and ensures your buns won't be soggy
- Fresh Herbs - essential for best flavor. However, for a budget friendly tip, mix in Cilantro Paste with Mayo to save money on fresh herbs.
- Pate - traditionally served in a Banh Mi, spread pate over one side of your baguette for extra depth of flavor.
Banh Mi Meat
Personalize by using your favorite meats, including Vietnamese Pate for your Banh Mi. Asian grocers would have these, however feel free to experiment with your favorite meat suggestions.
- Pork - try roasted pork, sliced ham, pork belly with crackling, Vietnamese Pork Sausage (Cha Lua), shredded pork, grilled pork, Char Siu (Chinese Bbq Pork)
- Chicken - as per recipe, try shredding a Costco chicken, air fry crispy chicken strips, grilled chicken or cook marinated chicken strips (with soy, garlic, fish sauce, and ginger)
- Beef - sliced grilled steak, cooked marinated beef strips, or Vietnamese meat balls (or these tasty Thai Rissoles)
- Seafood - grilled fish fillets, fish meatballs (fish cakes) or grilled shrimp
- Pate - usually made from Pork Liver, adds flavor and moisture to your sandwich
Banh Mi Sauce Suggestions
- Japanese Mayo - so creamy and delicious!
- Spicy Sriracha Mayo - don't buy it, so easy to make
- Maggi and Mayonnaise - mix together to taste
- Hoisin Sauce
- A few dashes of Fish Sauce
- Creamy Sweet Chili Sauce - adds a sweet heat
- Peanut Sauce
- Hot Chili Sauce
Can I Make This Recipe in Advance?
Yes, but recommend assembling ingredients just before serving. If assembling in advance, the buns will be soggy. Prepare ingredients, pickle and slice, and keep refrigerated until ready to build your sandwich.
Asian Recipes You'll Love
- San Choy Bow - Asian Lettuce Wraps
- Sweet Chili Chicken Drumsticks
- Roasted Broccoli with Garlic and Soy
- How to Cook Snow Peas
- Easy Thai Cauliflower Rice
- Kimchi Fried Rice
- Teriyaki Chicken
- Tom Kha Gai Soup - Chicken Coconut Soup
- Chinese Spicy Cucumber Salad
So quick and easy to make Banh Mi for lunch or dinner. Save time by using store-bought chicken, air frying chicken strips or using leftover roast chicken. Crunchy, tangy and full of flavor, everyone will love this recipe. Bon Appetit! Приятного аппетита!
Ingredients
- 4 Vietnamese rolls or 1 baguette
- Sriracha Mayo or regular mayo
- shredded chicken or chicken strips
- 1 long english cucumber sliced
- 2 cups pickled carrots
- 1½ cups fresh cilantro with stems
- 1 red chili pepper thinly sliced (optional)
- 2 sliced green onions optional
- Maggi seasoning optional
Instructions
- Pickle Carrots - prepare the quick pickled carrots in advance. This should take about an hour to pickle.
- Prepare Chicken - shred rotisserie chicken and set aside. Alternatively, cook frozen chicken strips in air fryer (takes about 12 minutes).
- Prepare Ingredients - slice cucumbers, cilantro, chili peppers and green onions. Slice baguette in half, careful not to cut all the way through.
- Assemble Banh Mi - spread mayo on both sides of baguette. Layer with chicken, sliced cucumbers, a generously amount of pickled carrots, green onions, cilantro, and red chili peppers.
- Serve - optional: drizzle with a bit of Maggi seasoning. Enjoy immediately with your favorite sides.
©PetersFoodAdventures.com *originally posted January 2022, updated March 2024
Anjali
I've been looking for some new lunch ideas and this sandwich looks absolutely delicious!! Can't wait to make it this week!
Tara
Oh yum! This sandwich looks so good with the pickled carrots! I absolutely love all those flavors.
Alina
Such a flavorful and colorful snack idea!
Kris
So easy. So delicious. Can't wait to make again! 🙂
Liz
This was absolutely delicious and filling! It's true the pickled carrots really do something magical here. I had never tried them before and now I don't know how I lived my whole life without them! I used left over rotisserie chicken from the grocery store and made my own sriracha mayo. It was sooo good!
Peter Kolesnichenko
Definitely worth the easy effort to make the pickled carrots! Shredded carrots don't taste the same, it wouldn't be Banh Mi without it! ❤️
Jeff the Chef @ Make It Like a Man!
There's a fantastic banh mi place just a few blocks from me, so it's going to be hard for me to make a sandwich at home, when it's so easy to walk down the street. But not in the currently cold weather we're having! Thanks for the recipe!
Peter Kolesnichenko
Lol - I wish I had a great place just down the road from me! However, it's easily made at home, tastes like summer to me, so fresh!