How To Make Vietnamese Chicken Roll - Bánh Mì

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There are many things to love about the fabulous city of Sydney: the sparkling harbour, the beautiful beaches, the vibrant nightlife and the creative and colourful people who live there.

Of course, me being me, whenever I am away from the harbour city I also miss the amazing selection of food Sydney has to offer!

As any true-blue Sydneysider will tell you, the best Vietnamese Chicken Rolls or chicken bánh mì to be had in Sydney can be found in Marrickville, in Sydney’s inner west – luckily enough, only a quick walk from my apartment.

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These tiny, hole-in-the-wall establishments have such a cult following that the locals queue around the block every lunchtime to get their bánh mì fix. This famous Vietnamese street food has is a range of fillings to choose from, with pork and chicken warring for the most popular.

Where do Banh Mi come from?

Bánh mì is one of my favourite examples of fusion-cuisine. The baguette was brought to Vietnam by the French in the 19th century, but it wasn’t until the 1950’s that the bánh mì as we know it was born in Saigon.

This mixture of French ingredients like baguette, pate and mayonnaise with local delicacies like Chả lụa (a type of pork sausage) and fresh coriander became an instant hit with locals and foreigners alike.

What is a Banh Mi?

It’s easiest to think of bahn mi as a type of submarine sandwich with fairly flexible ingredients. You’ll always need some delicious fresh baguettes for stuffing, along with a choice of cold roast pork or chicken.

Whichever meat you choose, the other ingredients are always the same. Plenty of pickled carrot and radish, a generous slathering of mayonnaise, pâté or both and loads of chilli and fresh herbs.

This is street food at it’s finest, and is probably the cheapest, most filling meal you can find anywhere in Sydney.

You don’t have to travel all the way to Sydney (or Vietnam!) to get great Banh Mi – I’m pleased to tell you that you can make incredibly good bánh mì at home!

Báhn Mì pickled vegetables and herbs — **Make sure to slice the vegetables finely. Finely sliced vegetables are much easier to eat.**

Ingredients

To make Banh Mi at home you’ll need the following main ingredients:

Carrots and radish: These vegetables are pickled in a simple brine of vinegar, sugar and water and add a sweet and sour tang to the bahn mi.
Fish sauce and soy sauce: Combined with lime, ginger, garlic and chilli, they make the delicious marinade and sauce for the chicken.
Chicken breasts: Chicken is quick and easily available, but if you like you can use cold roast pork too.
Baguettes: Either buy small individual baguettes, or cut a large one into pieces.
Chicken Liver Pâté: Use a good quality, rustic pate, or make your own.
Cilantro / Coriander, Mint and Spring Onions: The fresh herbs in Banh Mi are what make it so incredibly tasty. If you don’t like coriander simply leave it out or consider replacing it with something like rocket or Thai Basil.

While the ingredient list may look long, the ingredients are easy to come by in any well-stocked supermarket. The actual hands-on work is minimal, and slicing up the carrots and radish will give you a chance to show off your knife skills.

Chicken for Vietnamese Chicken Bahn Mi — **Don’t throw out the chicken marinade! Cook it into a delicious sauce for lots of extra flavour.**

The marinade for this recipe does most of the heavy lifting. It tenderises and flavours the meat, and then does double duty as a flavour-packed sauce. Even half an hour in this marinade is better than nothing at all, so you can even satisfy your bánh mì cravings last minute.

This recipe makes 4 bánh mì, which depending on how hungry you are will feed 2-4 people.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Can I use another type of meat in bánh mì?

Yes! Actually, bánh mì rolls are traditionally made with several types of pork meat, so they are delicious with roast pork (try this recipe!), though thinly sliced steak or roast beef would be lovely too.

I can’t stand coriander / cilantro or pâté! Can I leave it out?

Yes, of course. All the more for me!

Can I make bánh mì in advance?

You can make the pickled vegetables up to a week in advance, while the chicken can marinate for a maximum of 24 hours. After 24 hours the acids in the marinade will begin to cook the chicken which changes the texture. To make life easier you could cook the chicken in advance and either reheat it wrapped in foil in a low oven or just serve it cold. It’s very tasty both ways!