Take the king of sandwiches and turn it into a salad.
If you’ve never had a Banh Mi sandwich, we urge you to seek out the best version in your area and try one. They are a yummy, crunchy, spicy, sweet, cilantro, porky extravaganza. Between the bread, paté and pork, it’s not the healthiest meal. That is why we j’adore this salad. The flavor of this salad is pure Vietnamese, so the tastes are sweet, rice wine vinegar and spicy. With the addition of lean chicken and minus the bread et al, we’ve found a dynamic salad that has “girlfriend dinner” written all over it. Looks like the king of sandwiches just found himself a pretty little queen.
Recipe: Vietnamese Banh Mi Salad
Vietnamese Chicken Salad with creamy vinaigrette.
Ingredients:
For The Vietnamese Chicken:
1 lb. chicken breast
1/2 cup fish sauce
1/2 cup lime juice
1/4 cup sugar
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 jalapeno, chopped
1 1/2 tsp. salt
For the Vietnamese Salad:
1 heaping cup sliced cucumber
1 bunch radishes, sliced
1 bunch green onions, chopped
1 cup shredded carrot
1 cup roughly chopped cilantro
1 head romaine lettuce, roughly chopped
1/2 cup hot tap water
1/4 cup rice vinegar
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper
1/2 tap. salt
For the Banh Mi Dressing:
2 Tb. reserved vinegar mixture
3 Tb. light mayonnaise
1 Tb. olive oil
Salt and Pepper
Directions:
- Combine the ingredients for the chicken marinade in a baking dish. Place the chicken in the marinade. Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
- Meanwhile, chop the vegetables for the salad. Mix the hot water, vinegar, red pepper and salt in a medium bowl. Stir to dissolve the sugar. Then place the cucumbers and radishes in the mixture to pickle. Toss and set aside.
- Preheat the grill to medium heat. Grill the chicken for 5 minutes per side, then cover with foil and let it rest for 5 minutes before slicing.
- Place the romaine lettuce on dinner plates, topped with carrots, pickled cucumbers and radishes, sliced chicken, cilantro and green onions.
- Mix 2 tablespoons of the pickling liquid with mayo and olive oil. Whisk well and salt and pepper to taste. Drizzle over the top of the salads.
Recipe provided by A Spicy Perspective