Alright, guys, raise your hand if you’ve never had a banh mi?! Oh how sorry I feel for you all, but no worries — if this happens to be you well then I have your new favorite recipe right here! Vietnamese banh mi sandwiches are my FAVORITE sandwich in the entire world.
One of my coworkers introduced me to this sandwich and she taught me how to make them. Unlike a traditional banh mi, this sandwich has a delicious tangy sauce instead of the typical mayo. I think the sauce is what makes this sandwich out of this world so even if you’ve had many a banh mi in your day, I insist that you give my version a try! This sauce is the boss – trust me.
Banh mi is traditionally a pork sandwich and this recipe is also excellent if you used sliced pork tenderloin (just saying…)
Savory, sweet, salty, fresh, crunchy – this recipe has it all. You won’t believe how well the flavors go together until you try it yourself. The ingredients are easy to prepare ahead of time so I love making this for dinner guests too!
Please note that I didn’t include PointsPlus for bread because we’ll all use something different. The points for this recipe includes the sandwich filling and sauce only. I can easily find a bread for 4-5 pts+ making the entire sandwich just around 9-10 pts+.
- 1 lb. chicken breast, cut into bite size pieces
- 4 tsp olive oil
- garlic powder
- salt and pepper
- cilantro, chopped
- green onion, diced
- cucumbers, sliced
- pickled carrots (recipe in notes)
- 4 tbsp low-sodium soy sauce
- 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 6 tbsp water
- Sriracha, to taste
- Bread – I like to use wheat hoagie buns or crusty french bread.
- Heat 4 tsp olive oil over medium heat. Season chicken well with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Cook chicken over medium heat until cooked through, about 10 minutes. Set aside.
- Meanwhile prepare sauce: combine 4 tbsp low-sodium soy sauce with 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar and 6 tbsp water. Add a few squirts of sriracha, depending on how spicy you want the sauce. (I probably add a couple of tsp.)
- Place bread in a preheated, 350 degree, oven until nice and toasted. Toasting the bread in a toaster will only make the outside of the bread crisp and the sauce will make it soggy – you need a good crunch to your bread!
- Once bread is toasted spoon 1 tbsp sauce mixture on each side of bread. Top with ¼ the chicken and pile on the cucumber, cilantro, green onion, and carrots. Top sandwich with extra sriracha and serve with additional sauce, if desired.
- Enjoy!
Have you tried a banh mi before? Was it at a restaurant or have you made one at home? What did you think?
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{ 20 comments… read them below or add one }
Yum! Thanks for the recipe! I had one recently at a Vietnamese sandwich shop and I was surprised that I’d never had one before–it was so good!
You’ll have to try it and let me know how it measures up to the sandwich shop =)
I almost attacked my screen when I saw these – friggn’ love banh mi!!!!
haha – nice! I think I could eat one every day for a month before I got tired of it.
I almost attacked my screen when I saw these – friggn’ love banh mi!!!
Yum, looks and sounds soo good.
Does the bread ‘make’ the dish? Becuase I am not a big sandwich person, wondering if a wrap would do (or flat bread?)
No I think the flavors would be great in a wrap too. Actually I stuffed a pita pocket with the ingredients once and it was great. Just be careful of the sauce – I’d just use it for dipping if you didn’t do the bread because a soggy wrap would be no fun!
Looks delicious! I LOVE banh mi, but it’s rare to find one that doesn’t include pork-something. Fabulous!
I think it’s just as good with chicken!
Yum!
The only banh mi I’ve had was at a restaurant here in Fort Collins. It was vegan and used tofu and vegan mayo, but it was remarkably delicous. I’m excited to try this!
Mmm, that sandwich looks amazing! I’ve made the Bon Appetit’s pork meatball banh mi sandwich before- so good!
I love the combination of flavors in the banh mi sandwich – and I too made the meatball sandwich before from Bon Appetit – I need to make that again!
http://mybizzykitchen.com/2009/12/30/bahn-mi/
I ADORE banh mi! Especially with a thick layer of pate spread on top
yum! When I was in Vietnam a few years ago I had a breakfast version with over easy eggs. To. Die. For.
I’ve been wanting to make one with an egg for a while now – it sounds so good!
Nothing I’ve had has beat the banh mi I ate in Saigon! I hadn’t thought of making it myself though, I’m going to get on that.
I’ve had a tofu banh mi–I’m not sure if that counts?
This looks delicious though. I love your photos!
The sauce on this sounds like it would taste really good
. Nice photography too, Rachel. Did you shoot this with artificial light?
I love all sorts of Vietnamese food, and banh mi is easily one of the favorites. On my site, I’m slowwwwwwwwly working up to it but a banh mi post is on the way!
Im making this for lunch tomorrow! Going to pickle the carrots over night too. Going to be delicious
New follower of your blog! Just read your weight loss story and felt like I was reading about myself. I joined WW 4.5 months ago and have lost 35 pounds so far! Hoping to lose another 24 to reach goal. Your transformation is so inspiring!
Anyway, Bahn Mi is totally my kryptonite and I was just telling my hubbs yesterday how much I missed it! I was stoked when I saw your WW friendly version on Pinterest! Can’t wait to give it a try. What kind of bread did you use with the sandwich in the photo? Is that the one that is 4-5 points?
Thanks Rochelle!!! 35 pounds? That is awesome!!
I hope you made the sandwich and were happy with the outcome! I usually try to find a wheat hoagie bread for 4-5 pts – I just make sure to toast it really well so that it doesn’t get soggy from the sauce. The bread in the photo was just some regular ol’ french bread from a bakery – not sure about the points.
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