Lemongrass chicken banh mi
Caramelized lemongrass chicken in crusty rolls with quick-pickled carrot, cucumber, chile, cilantro and sriracha mayo. Bakery-style banh mi at home.
- Prep
- 10 min
- Cook
- 9 min
- Serves
- 4
- Per serve
- 640 kcal
Ingredients
Method
Make the pickle first so it has time to work: stir the vinegar, superfine sugar and salt in a small bowl until dissolved, then add the carrot and toss. Leave it while you do everything else.
Toss the chicken with the lemongrass paste, garlic, fish sauce and brown sugar until evenly coated.
Heat the oil in a large skillet over high heat. Spread the chicken out in one layer and leave it for 3 minutes to catch and caramelize, then toss and cook until sticky, golden and cooked through.
Meanwhile, split the rolls lengthwise without cutting all the way through, and stir the sriracha into the mayonnaise.
Tip the chicken onto a plate. Wipe the pan, then press the rolls open-side down into it over medium heat until warm and crisp.
Spread the rolls with sriracha mayo, then fill with the chicken, drained pickled carrot, cucumber, chile and plenty of cilantro. Eat straight away while the bread is crisp.
Tips
- Cook the chicken in two batches if your pan is small. Crowding it makes it steam instead of caramelize.
- A smear of chicken liver pâté under the mayo makes it taste like the classic bakery version.
- The pickled carrot keeps for a week in the fridge, so make double.
