Vietnamese Banh Mi Street Tacos
Today we’re sharing a taco recipe like no other. A vietnamese and latin amalgamation of glorious complexity. Our Vietnamese Banh Mi Street Tacos are going to blow your mind!
Ok guys. It has been brought to my attention (by my husband, Lt. Dan) that I call every recipe I share my favorite.
Ahem… Sorry about that.
I really mean it when I say each recipe I create for A Spicy Perspective IS my favorite. That is, until I make another blog-worthy recipe that I just have to share with you.
I’m going to try not to use the word “favorite” on today’s Vietnamese Banh Mi Street Tacos, although I’m completely obsessed with them.
Totally.
Ridiculously.
Glazed-over.
Mother-bear rage if you touch my tacos.
Obsessed.
Here’s why…
There are two ethnic cuisines that I crave relentlessly, Vietnamese and Mexican food. If you put them together you have fusion-food at its finest!
Loads of fresh ingredients.
Striking flavors.
Satisfying comfort.
So I’m sharing my favorite Vietnamese Banh Mi Street Tacos with you, because I feel you need to taste them.
For your own good.
I started by dicing chicken thighs into small bites, then soaked them in a bold aromatic Vietnamese Banh Mi marinade, made with fresh lime juice, pungent fish sauce, garlic, and jalapeños.
Once the chicken soaked up all that flavor, I seared it in a hot skillet to create a caramelized exterior.
I placed the Vietnamese Banh Mi chicken and soft flexible Old El Paso Flour Tortillas. (P.S. Old El Paso tortillas have won blind taste-test awards for flavor. Just saying.)
Old El Paso Flour Tortillas are the perfect wrapper to hold all this multicultural goodness. Then I created a simple tangy sauce for the tacos using mayo, sriracha, and sweetened rice vinegar.
These Vietnamese Banh Mi Street Tacos are loaded with fresh crunchy veggies that you would typically see on a Vietnamese Banh Mi sandwich, then drizzled with the spicy creamy taco sauce.
Sigh…. I love them, guys. Soooooo much.
Vietnamese Banh Mi Street Tacos need to go on your menu this week.
Once you taste them, you will know exactly how serious I am when I call something my favorite.
You might even call them your favorite!
Vietnamese Banh Mi Street Tacos
Ingredients
For the Vietnamese Banh Mi Chicken
- 2 tablespoons coconut oil
- 2 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs
- 1/2 cup fresh lime juice
- 1/3 cup fish sauce
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 jalapeno
- 4 cloves garlic minced
For the Spicy Mayo
- 3/4 cup mayonnaise
- 1-2 tablespoons Sriracha
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
For the Street Tacos
- 2 packages Old El Paso Flour Tortillas taco size
- 3 carrots shredded
- 1 English cucumber sliced thin
- 2 bunches radishes sliced thin
- 4 jalapenos sliced
- 1 bunch fresh mint or cilantro
- 2 limes cut into wedges
Instructions
For the Vietnamese Banh Mi Chicken:
- Pour the fish sauce, lime juice and sugar in a medium microwave-safe bowl. Microwave for 1-2 minutes, until the sugar dissolves. Cut the chicken thighs into very small (1/-inch) pieces. Place in a bowl along with jalapeno slices and minced garlic. Stir and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. (3 hours is best!)
For the Spicy Mayo:
- Place the rice vinegar and sugar in a small microwave-safe bowl. Microwave for 1 minute to dissolve the sugar. Then mix in the mayo and Sriracha. Add more Sriracha for extra kick. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
- Prep all the veggies. Once the chicken has marinated, drain off the marinade. Then heat a large skillet to medium-high heat. Once hot, add 1 tablespoon coconut oil to the skillet. Then add half the chicken to the skillet. Sear for 4-5 minutes, stirring to caramelize on all sides. Remove and repeat with the remaining chicken.
To Serve:
- Place a scoop of chicken in Old El Paso flour tortillas. Top with shredded carrots, cucumber slices, radishes, fresh mint leaves and jalapeno slices. Drizzle with spicy mayo and serve with fresh lime wedges.
Nutrition
Disclosure: This recipe is sponsored by Old El Paso. All opinions are my own.
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This is an excellent recipe! So crazily addictive. I could eat this every day. I didn’t use the suggested mint, I went with just cilantro, as that is what I had on hand, and I just love cilantro. The marinade is fantastic and produces great tasting chicken. Just be sure to really make sure the chicken is well drained from the marinade before cooking it up in a hot pan (I used a large cast iron pan that was quite hot) otherwise the chicken just steams instead of frying and getting a nice crispy, caramelization. I am also going to try it as a salad next time (instead of tacos) as that would be a great low carb option with the same fantastic flavour!
Sommer,
I love this one. A great idea
Would you recommend pickling the veggies to make this more of a traditional Baum mi, or are just cut veggies better with the tacos?
Hi Becca,
Either way! Pickled veggies would be nice as well. :)
Amazing! I was short on time, so I cut the chicken into cubes, mixed the sauce and microwaved as directed. Then I threw everything into the instant pot for 25 minutes. After doing a quick pressure release, I simmered on sauté medium for about 10 minutes and then strained the extra juices off. Meat was falling apart/shredding. All 3 kids (older teens/young adults) loved it – said it was the best tacos ever and I have been trying several lately- beef barbacoa, carnitas, etc. Also, I increased the meat to 2 1/2 lb and did not increase the marinade/sauce. They want it again tomorrow, but I am going to try Thai peanut chicken tacos.
Not a scrap of chicken left. All of my picky kids cleaned their plates and held off each other from getting their seconds. This was my first attempt at making Bahn Mi ‘anything’ and I can’t say how it would compare to traditional Bahn Mi, but this is definitely a keeper recipe.
The recipes made plenty for the 5 of us to have 2 decent sized tacos. I had a lot of vegetables left over so I’ll be using that for another recipe :-)
Hi Kate,
I’m so very glad you liked them! We’ve also got a traditional Banh Mi Sandwich on the blog. I think you will love it as well.
Fantastic! A recommendation for those who find the fish sauce pungent: heat only the lime juice & sugar together until dissolved. I used a sealable container for marinating. Place the cut up chicken in with jalapeños & garlic, pour in the lime juice & sugar mixture then add the fish sauce last. Stir & seal then refrigerate.
So so so good! Tried it as a vegetarian and a vegan recipe for a dinner party and the recipe worked great with tofu! Everyone loved it and went back for more.
YAY! I’m so very glad you liked them Leila. :)
Can we use chic breast instead of thigh! Some of us dont like dark chic meat!! Jodi
Hi Jodi, Absolutely! :)
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I just want to say that this was my favorite recipe last summer and it is going to be my favorite again this summer. (I actually use chicken breasts and make hubby cook them on the grill-then dice for the tacos).
The flavors are amazing! I really can’t get enough of this!
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These tacos look delicious! I want to eat these right now – you’re photos are fantastic :) Pinned for later xx
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This sounds yummy! Will have to try it. Thanks for sharing
These look awesome! I don’t have a microwave, is there an alternative option?
Hi Alison! Just warm it on the stovetop. :)
Hi there! These look delicious, but I’m not a chicken fan. Do you think I could substitute tofu and they would still me good? Thanks
Hi Megan! If you pan-fry the tofu, I bet that would be good.
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I plan on making this tomorrow…can I marinade overnight? Or will the fish sauce over power the chicken?
I pinned these because they looked so beautiful and delicious. I don’t like radishes but I decided to make them anyway. The smell of the fish sauce is definitely pungent!!! Everyone who walked in my house did not like the smell but I decided I had started the process and I was going to finish. SO GLAD I DID!! They are delicious and I even had them with the radishes and loved them! Thanks for such an amazing recipe!
I made these tonight. The recipe looked incredible. When you microwave fish sauce, open the windows, not a pleasant smell. Persevere! My kids asked what was for dinner, I told them, ” Mom , can’t you leave your experimenting to once a week, we want something reliable” Well, in the end a 15 & 16 year old gave it an A+ . You can vary the heat by adding less jalapeño and sriracha to taste, also added into the veggie mix some bibb lettuce. I used wholeweat tortillas and served with a side of edamame. This recipe is a keeper.
Made these over the weekend and they are going to continue to appear in the dinner rotation. The Srirarcha Mayo is beyond and overall the recipe is just so easy to make. Highly recommended!!!
YAY! So glad you liked them. Thanks for coming back to tell me! :)
I’m all over these!! Next Saturday they’ll be dinner!! Thanks for sharing!
Incredible flavors! My family would go crazy for these tacos!
Ohmigosh! I love Banh Mi more than life! I stumbled upon your blog from The Pioneer Woman’s suggestion…so happy I did! I will be trying this tomorrow or the next day….SO EXCITED!!!!
WOWWWWW. Making STAT. I’m so anticipating this fusion food party in my mouth, pinned!
Oh my goodness….I think these are my new favorite, too!
These are so going to happen this week! I want one so bad!
For someone with allergies what’s a good substitute for fish sauce?
Hi Marissa! Fish sauce has a very distinct flavor that is hard to replicate, but it’s very salty and rich. What are you allergic to? If it’s just seafood, you could try using part soy sauce and part Worcestershire sauce.
I wanted to add a point of clarification here for others who have a fish/shellfish allergy. Fish sauce generally contains fish AND shellfish ingredients. Worcestershire sauce contains anchovies, so if you have a fish allergy, you definitely don’t want to substitute it (if you have a shellfish allergy only, it would be okay).
For those allergic to fish AND shellfish, you can use soy sauce in a pinch and it’ll work, though won’t have the depth of flavor you’d get from fish sauce. A more complex option would be something like the following: http://www.thekitchn.com/recipe-vegan-fish-sauce-130535
Drooling!!! These tacos look so dang good!
Street Taco’s are amazing! YUM.
love these tacos Sommer!
Gorgeous! I appreciate that you love every recipe and I’m on team #favorite! Sorry Lt. Dan :-)
Sommer those tacos look amazing! Do you deliver ; )
Haha – I totally do that, too! I think I get too excited about food. ;) I’m definitely excited about these tacos – they look AMAZING!!
What a fabulous way to change up tacos.
I’ll take 27 of these delicious tacos to go, please?!!
Gorgeous tacos!! I would eat these every night. The flavors are awesome!
I could eat tacos every day and be totally happy. Can’t wait for summer weather to hit us when we can drink margaritas outside and chow down on taco after taco.
Oh, boy, I’ve been dying to make just plain old banh mi sandwiches, but you’ve convinced me that tacos are the way to go!