Vietnamese street food has been gaining popularity over the past few years. The combination of influences from western foodie culture and flavors from its Asian neighbors created an interesting variety of new offerings. Vietnamese grilled chili bread or bánh mì nướng muối ớt is a fusion dish that is made for gatherings. This snack is highly customizable and elevates a few inexpensive ingredients to the next level. This is our version of this popular street snack.
Ingredients:
2 loaves of bread such as Portuguese roll or similar type of bread that has a nice crust with a light and soft inside.
1 tablespoon of chili paste such as Sambal Oelek Chili Paste
1 tablespoon of Sriracha (and more to garnish at the end)
1 tablespoon of regular mayonnaise or Kewpie mayonnaise
1 tablespoon of butter
2 stalks of scallion
2 tablespoons of vegetable oil
1/2 teaspoon of sugar
1 tablespoon of garlic (approximately 3 cloves)
Handful of fried shallots
Sprinkle of ground black pepper
Meat Toppings:
1/4 pound of Chinese BBQ pork or any other meat toppings like sausage or ham.
1 cup of pork floss
Any meat toppings that are in your fridge should work.
Directions:
Mix 1 tablespoon of chili paste, 1 tablespoon of sriracha, 1 tablespoon of mayonnaise and 1/2 teaspoon of sugar.
Diced 2 stalks of scallion. Mix scallion with 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil and microwave for 30 seconds. You can also make scallion oil in a pan.
Minced 3 cloves of garlic (approximately 1 tablespoon). Heat a pan on medium heat with 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil and add garlic. Remove from the stove when garlic turns golden brown.
Thinly slice BBQ pork and butter.
Toast the bread for 3-4 minutes in a toaster oven until the top is slightly crunchy and the insides are soft. This will make it easier to flatten the bread. Carefully remove the loaves of bread from the toaster. Using a rolling pin, flatten each loaf.
You can continue to use the toaster oven for the next step or place a baking rack over the burners on the stove. I prefer the stove so I can easily control the next steps. Heat the stove on low. Spread a few slices of butter on top of each loaf and place them on the rack.
Once the butter melts, use a brush and generously spread the chili mayonnaise mixture. Let it “dry” out for 30 seconds and brush on another generous layer. Let that cook for 30 seconds or so until the paste has “dried up”. Flip the bread so that it gets 15 to 30 seconds of caramelization. Remove from the heat. You may need to flip or move the bread away from the burner during this process. Be careful not to burn the bread.
Use a scissor and cut each loaf into bite size strips. Top the toasted bread with slices of BBQ pork, a layer of scallion oil, a layer of pork floss, and then a second layer of scallion oil. Finish the dish with a generous sprinkle of fried shallots, toasted garlic and ground black pepper. Add a squeeze of sriracha and mayonnaise (optional) and serve.
For more recipes, visit our EAT page or Recipe Index.
Authors: Susan Tran and Chau Hoang
