I post a lot of cooking on my instagram stories and have had several requests from my followers to share my recipes. I have been hesitant in posting because a lot of my cooking is improvising and I’m not always following a specific recipe. I will do my best to give you the most accurate adaptation so you can recreate them at home.
I made Vietnamese Banh Mi bowls (my own version of it) the other night and my family loved it! One of my daughters is vegetarian so this recipe it great because you can swap out the chicken for tofu or use both.
Ingredients:
- Thinly pounded chicken or firm tofu – remove water from tofu.
- 1 package rice, soba, or udon noodles
Pickled Vegetables:
- 1 cup thinly sliced carrots – I cut mine on the mandolin but you can buy them precut.
- 1 cup thinly sliced cucumbers
- 1 cup daikon *you can skip if you don’t have*
- 4 tbsp Rice Vinegar
- 1/2 tsp of salt
- 1/2 tsp sugar
Marinade Ingredients:
- 2 tbsp lemongrass
- 1 tsp fish sauce
- 2 tsp soy sauce
- 2 tsp sugar – I leave the sugar out but it’s up to you.
- 2 tsp minced garlic
- Juice of 1/4 lemon
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
Peanut Sauce
- 1/3 cup creamy peanut butter
- 1/4 cup canned unsweetened coconut milk
- 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
- 3 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
- 1 garlic cloves, minced
For Assembly:
- Fresh Cilantro
- 1/4 cup Chopped Peanuts
- 1 lime cut into slices
- Hot sauce of your choice (optional)
Directions: Combine all of the marinade ingredients in a mixing bowl and then add it to the chicken or tofu. Let it marinate for at least 30 mins. Take it out of the marinade and grill the chicken. For the tofu, bake at 400 degrees fahrenheit until golden brown on each side.
Boil the noodles according to the directions, then drain and rinse. I add a little sesame oil and soy sauce to the noodles for extra flavor.
Take your carrots and cucumbers and add 4 tbsp of rice vinegar and a 1/2 tsp of salt and 1/2 tsp of sugar and combine. You can massage the sugar and salt into the vegetables. Cover and put them in the fridge for at least 30 mins.
Take all your ingredients from the peanut sauce and blend them in the Cuisinart. Add more coconut milk if the consistency is too thick or peanut butter if it’s too thin.
Now that all your ingredients are prepped you can assembles your bowls. Start with noodles at the bottom add your protein, carrots/cucumbers, sprig of cilantro, chopped peanuts, slice of lime. Top it off with your peanut sauce and hot sauce of choice.
Bon Appétit!