I have a thing for cilantro. And for good sandwiches. So when my hair guy was telling me about his family recipe for Bahn Mi sandwiches my mouth started watering. There are some great Vietnamese delis and restaurants in the area, especially by our old house, but I don't have time to drive that far. Plus, after listening to my hair guy and researching recipes, the ingredients are pretty basic.
First, I warmed 1 c. rice vinegar with 1/2 c. water and 1/2 c. sugar. Once the sugar had dissolved, I added about 1 c. julienned carrots and 1/3 c. finely chopped white onion. This mixture needs to sit for a couple hours or overnight.
To make the chicken, I sliced up two boneless chicken breasts and marinated in 2 chopped cloves of garlic, 1/4 c. soy sauce, 2 tsp sugar, 1 tsp five spice powder, 1/2 tsp ground pepper. Let sit for 4 hours or overnight if possible.
I cooked the chicken on the stove and to assemble the sandwiches I took a slightly warmed french baguette and layered on thinly sliced cucumber, cilantro (I used a lot), the pickled carrots/onion mix and the chicken slices. I also squeezed a big wedge of lime over the sandwich fixings and sprinkled on red pepper flakes to get a nice kick without altering the flavor.
Presto! An amazing sandwich that would be great for lunch or dinner. It is very light but very filling. This sandwich can't be too unhealthy for you either... no mayo, cheese, or processed meats. Just fresh veggies and marinated chicken (with bread and some sugar thrown in!).
This will be showing up at a future football tailgate party - pretty simple, full of flavor, and a crowd pleaser.
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