Chicken Bahn Mi Sandwiches

My girlfriend and I first heard about the Bahn Mi sandwich while watching the Food Network. Intrigued, we soon sought out a spot that serves them and decided on a local favorite.  They were OK, but we knew that we could recreate them even better at home. The first time we made them homemade they became an instant mainstay..

The Chicken Bahn Mi sandwich. It is the best thing ever.

Ingredients

• 3 Chicken breasts
• 6 Hoagie rolls
• 1 bundle Cilantro
• 1 lime
• 1 bag bean sprouts
• 1 cucumber
• 1 bag of matchstick carrots
• 1 jalapeno
• Mayo
• Sriracha
• Hoisin
• Apple cider vinegar
• Soy sauce
• Sugar
• Garlic powder
• Salt
• Pepper
• Extra virgin olive oil

Instructions

Marinate the chicken. Place the chicken breasts in a Pyrex casserole dish. Rub them with extra virgin olive oil (about 1 Tbs), soy sauce (about 2 Tbs), and the juice of about 1/2 lime. Once thoroughly coated, sprinkle them with a little salt -- not too much, the soy sauce is already salty, Now, liberally sprinkle chicken with garlic powder and fresh ground pepper. Cover and place in fridge to marinate for 1-3 hours.

Prepare pickling solution. In a small sauce pan, heat 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar, 1/4 cup water, and 1/4 cup white sugar until dissolved. Let cool.

Slice the veggies. Cut carrots to matchstick shape. Cut cucumber in long thin slices. Slice the jalapeno. Leave in the seeds for a lot of heat, get rid of them for less. Note: the spice level of jalapenos can vary drastically (even without the seeds), so try a little chunk so you can gauge how much you'd like to use.

Pickle the veggies. Place veggies (but not the bean sprouts) in a tightly-sealable container and pour the cooled pickling liquid over top. Seal and place in the fridge. Let pickle for at least 1 hour. Rinse and store the bean sprouts in a separate container. 

We didn't have a jalapeno, but we added a radish..

Grill chicken. After chicken is done marinating, set both sides of your grill to high and let it preheat for about 10 minutes. Place chicken over direct heat and grill for about 4:30 per side with lid closed. Turn off heat on one side of your grill and move chicken to that side. Check the temp with a digital thermometer in the thickest part of the breast. We need it to hit 165. If under, close the lid and let cook via indirect heat. Keep checking in 2-3 minute increments until chicken hits 165. When chicken is done, immediately remove from grill, place on a dish, cover loosely with foil, and let the chicken rest for about 10 minutes.

Close-up of grilled chicken. Note the char marks -- this is what you want.

Chop cilantro and lightly toast buns. While your chicken is resting preheat your oven to about 325. Chop the cilantro and cut some lime wedges. Slice the buns (if not already sliced), open them up and place in the oven for about 2-3 minutes, or until desired toastiness.

Assemble sandwich. Liberally spread mayo on both sides of the lightly toasted hoagie roll, and add a little streak of hoisin sauce to one side. Hoisin is a little strong and sweet, so be careful how much you add. Cut chicken into strips (not length-wise, you want to cut against the "grain" of the muscle fibers to maximize tenderness and chew-ability) and place on the bun, about half a breast per sandwich. Use tongs to retrieve your veggies from the pickling liquid, shake off excess liquid and place on sandwich. Top with bean sprouts and a big handful of chopped cilantro. Squirt some Sriracha and lime juice on top and close up the sandwich.