Chicken Banh Mi Tacos

There are only about 1,000 different taco places here in OKC. Tacos are currently Oklahoma City’s “it” food, if you know what I mean.

Hey—I’m not complaining. I love tacos. My current taco obsession is Torchy’s down in Norman. Their tuna tacos are out of this world.

I don’t make tacos as much anymore and I feel like that needs to change. I thought I’d let my creative juices fly on a new type of taco to get out of my taco-less rut. Plus, I really needed something good to go with this Texas Tabbouleh I made yesterday.

Enter: Vietnamese food. Okay…so that’s two vastly different cuisines, Mexican and Vietnamese. But they’re not all that different, you see. Vietnamese food puts an emphasis on different flavor profiles like sour, spicy and sweet. Mexican food is almost the same way.

So I decided to combine the two and make some banh mi tacos. I don’t know how to make char siu (Cantonese barbecued pork) that is typically found on banh mi, so instead I opted for a caramelized-type chicken thigh.

I just want to go ahead and profess my love for chicken thighs, the most underrated chicken part. Everybody always uses chicken breast for everything, but hello! Chicken thighs are way more flavorful. And tender. And better. And everything.

Anyway, to make a banh mi a banh mi, I needed to top my tacos with fresh and crispy veggies: cucumber, carrots, jalapeno slices, and cilantro. I made a quick-pickled onion to kick the sour flavor up a notch. Also, no taco would be complete with out a spicy sauce, like salsa, so I made a Sriracha mayonnaise to drizzle on top.

These tacos are pretty much a party in your mouth. Seriously. Vietnamese/Mexican fusion is a fantastic combo, but you should try these to decide for yourself!

Step-By-Step Instructions

In a small bowl, stir together fish sauce, lime juice and sugar. In a large bowl (or marinating pan, like I used) place chicken meat, jalapenos, sambal oelek and garlic. Pour fish sauce mixture over the top and stir until chicken is well coated. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour or overnight.

Make the pickled onion: In a large bowl, combine onion, red wine vinegar, and sugar. Stir to combine. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

Heat 1 TBS. olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Drain marinade off chicken and cook 1/3 of the chicken in hot oil. Cook until chicken is browned, crispy and caramelized on each side, about 5 minutes per side. Continue cooking chicken in batches.

Make the Sriracha mayonnaise: In a squeeze bottle, combine mayo, rice vinegar, sugar and Sriracha. Shake until well combined.

Make the tacos: Spoon chicken into warmed flour tortillas and top with cucumber, carrots, jalapeno, cilantro, pickled onion and then drizzle with Sriracha mayo.