I lament often to my friend that banh mi used to cost $1 and came with a free drink back when I was growing up in Lowell. Now it’s a couple dollars more but in New York City, it’s like $8 or more! Unless you’re in Chinatown but that’s still almost $5. Ah, those days when banh mi used to be cheaper and with better quality bread.
I’ve always said that the best banh mi has the best bread. If the bread is stale or not French baguette, it’s not a banh mi. Even though I went to a local bakery, Parisi Bakery, here in Queens, their French baguette is nothing close to a real French baguette. It just taste like American bread.
But this salad was basically a banh mi with less bread. I opted for chicken instead of the usual pate, mayo, and cured meat. Nothing beats adding Sriracha into this tasty Asian dish.
Ingredients
- 4 chicken wings, deboned
- 4 slices of French baguette
- 1 cups of cabbage, julienned
- 1/4 cup daikon, julienned
- 5-6 baby carrots, thinly sliced
- 2 radish, thinly sliced
- 2-3 sprigs cilantro, chopped
- 2 tbsp vinegar
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 1/4 tsp salt
1. Start by pickling daikon, carrots, and radish with vinegar, sugar, and salt. Squeeze the water out occassionally.
2. If you have chicken breast, unsalted, or leftover chicken, reheat with some salt or throw a splash of fish sauce for some salt.
3. Mix picked vegetables over a bed of cabbage, add chicken and cilantro.
4. Serve with some slices of bread. Add Sriracha for a nice kick.
