You’d be hard-pressed to find a more satisfying sandwich than this lemongrass chicken banh mi.
When I’m at a Vietnamese restaurant, I rarely order a banh mi because I’m always swayed by the prospect of that other giant of Vietnamese cuisine, pho.
However, the minute I had assembled these magical sandwiches and took a bite, I had a renewed appreciation for banh mi in all its forms.
Everyone present on blogging day agreed, and while we cooked and photographed about seven recipes that day, this lemongrass chicken banh mi disappeared immediately!
What Are the Origins of This Vietnamese Sandwich?
Banh Mi is the Vietnamese word for bread, but it also refers to a type of sandwich that involves a Vietnamese baguette, a protein, and plenty of pickled and fresh vegetables and herbs.
The French first brought the baguette to Vietnam after colonizing the region in the 19th century.
The banh mi sandwich as we know it today originated in Saigon as a popular street food, and it was later popularized further by Vietnamese immigrants in the United States, Australia, and around the world.
What’s in a Traditional Banh Mi?
A traditional banh mi sandwich consists of a light, crispy baguette, pickled julienned carrots and daikon radish, cilantro, sliced jalapeño or chili, and a protein of some sort. They can also include mayonnaise and cucumber.
Our recipe includes a Sriracha mayonnaise, which really rounds out the flavors of the sandwich.
My favorite banh mi varieties involve some sort of grilled protein. The smoky, charred flavor goes incredibly well with the sharp pickled vegetables, spicy jalapeños, and fresh herbs.
While this is a chicken banh mi recipe, you could apply the same lemongrass marinade to beef (skirt steak would be a delicious option) or pork (thinly sliced pork chops or pork shoulder!).
Lemongrass Chicken Banh Mi Recipe: Instructions
Start by preparing the carrot and daikon. Add the julienned carrots and daikon to a large bowl and toss in the sugar, salt, vinegar and sesame oil. Set aside for 1 hour, stirring occasionally.
Then prepare the chicken. In the bowl of a food processor, add 2 tablespoons oil, the fish sauce, oyster sauce, pepper flakes, sugar, shallots, garlic, lemongrass, and lime zest. Process until smooth.
Add to a bowl, along with the chicken, and toss to coat the chicken in the marinade. Cover, transfer to the fridge, and marinate for 1-4 hours.
Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons oil on a cast iron skillet or grill pan over medium-high heat. Sear the chicken for about 5 minutes on each side, or until cooked through. Set aside on a cutting board.
To assemble the sandwiches, combine the mayonnaise, Sriracha, and lime juice.
Open up each piece of bread, and spread the sriracha mayonnaise on each side.
Fill with the pickled carrots and daikon…
Slice the cooked chicken, and add it to the sandwiches…
Along with sliced jalapeños and cilantro. Serve!
Want more Vietnamese recipes? Check out our Spicy Meatball Banh Mi, our authentic Pho recipe, Quick 20-Minute Chicken Pho, and Vietnamese Summer Rolls!
Lemongrass Chicken Banh Mi
Ingredients
For the carrot & daikon salad:
- 2 carrots (julienned)
- 1 cup daikon radish (julienned)
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
- 2 teaspoons sesame oil
For the chicken & marinade:
- 4 tablespoons vegetable oil (divided)
- 2 tablespoons fish sauce
- 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- 2 shallots (peeled)
- 3 cloves garlic
- 2 stalks fresh lemongrass (cut into pieces)
- 2 teaspoons lime zest
- 6 boneless, skinless chicken thighs (about 1 1/2 pounds, or 675 grams)
Instructions
- Start by preparing the carrot and daikon. Add the julienned carrots and daikon to a large bowl and toss in the sugar, salt, vinegar and sesame oil. Set aside for 1 hour, stirring occasionally.
- Then prepare the chicken. In the bowl of a food processor, add 2 tablespoons oil, the fish sauce, oyster sauce, pepper flakes, sugar, shallots, garlic, lemongrass, and lime zest. Process until smooth. Add to a bowl, along with the chicken, and toss to coat the chicken in the marinade. Cover, transfer to the fridge, and marinate for 1-4 hours.
- Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons oil in a 12-inch ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. Sear the chicken for about 5 minutes on each side, or until cooked through. Set aside on a plate.
- To assemble the sandwiches, combine the mayonnaise, Sriracha, and lime juice.
- Open up each piece of bread, and spread the sriracha mayonnaise on each side. Fill with the pickled carrots and daikon. Slice the cooked chicken, and add it to the sandwiches, along with sliced jalapeños and cilantro. Serve!
Delicious! Reminded me of the BBQ chicken I get at Hawaiin BBQ restaurants! Didnt have shallots or lemongrass. Subbed shallots with few chunks of onion. Tasted amazing and can’t wait to make again and have with jasmine rice. Drizzle some sauce from the pan and wow!
Thank you Colleen!
Hello! My wife is allergic to seafood in general. Is the fish sauce necessary in any of the dishes? Sometimes its hard for us to eat Asian dishes because we aren’t sure if fish sauce is used. thank you so much for your time.
Hi Rob, you can omit the fish sauce. You can sub in more soy sauce for the extra salt/umami that the fish sauce would’ve added!
Awesome. Thank you!
Sorry, I forgot to rate it.
Winner, Winner, Chicken dinner or lunch of course. This was a great and tasty meal that was relatively easy to make. I will definitely tell friends and family to try this one. Thank you for all the wonderful recipes you post.
Of course, Kati, thank you for your wonderful comment and review!
Make this every couple weeks, that’s how delicious it is! I often skip the daikon as it’s not something I have on hand. I like adding cucumbers as well. Thanks for the recipe!
Wanted to add that the entire family loves it, including my picky kiddo :)
You’re welcome, Saara!!
So good!! The flavors are spot on with the banh mi at our local Vietnamese food truck. And so easy to get the chicken, pickled vegetables, and sriracha mayo ready ahead of time. Definitely will make again!
So glad you enjoyed this, Veronica! Thanks for the five stars!
Any subs for lemongrass I can’t find it
Hi Adrienne, you can try just adding a bit of lemon and lime zest to the marinade.
Why don’t you add pate to your bahn mi? I have read so many westernised versions of this dish that skip the pate, even though I’ve heard it’s essential to the authenticity of the dish.
I’ve actually never had pate on my banh mi, Howard, but it sounds interesting and certainly tasty.
A traditional banh mi actually doesn’t have chicken it’s with what I called growing up (my mother was Vietnamese and I was born in Vietnam) Vietnamese deli types of meat and it’s this kind you have with the pate. We never have the pate with the chicken banh mi which started to appear at the Vietnamese sandwich shops in the last 12 years or so.
Holy crap these were delicious! I’ve made lemongrass-marinaded chicken in the past from another blog but this chicken alone was on a whole other level. I’ve moved to a small town and been craving banh mi, this tastes exactly like what I can get from my favourite shop in the city. Couldn’t find daikon so pickled just carrots but still tasted great! Also don’t have a food processor so added a splash of water to help my blender process the marinade. I had to use Portuguese buns which were not the same but close enough. Can’t wait to have the leftovers for lunch tomorrow and continue this easy recipe in my rotation!
Love that, thanks for sharing your experience and leaving a review, Jackie!
Amazing! I made it today and it was just perfect and sooo easy to make. Thank you very much for this great recipe.
You’re very welcome, Valerie!