Banh Mi Wrap

Yeah, I said wrap. I'm not in the habit these days of having delicious crusty baguettes lying around, so my banh mi craving became a wrap. I made Chao Ga last night, and the leftover chicken was my inspiration for this amazingly delicious creation.

Banh Mi Wrap
Quick-Pickled Veg
1/2 C rice wine vinegar (or just regular old white vinegar)
1/4 C water
2 t sugar
1 t salt
about 1/4 C shredded carrot
1 small or 1/2 large shallot, thinly sliced
1 small jalapeño pepper, thinly sliced (you can leave these unpickled if you want, but don't leave them out!)

Heat the vinegar, water, sugar, and salt until the sugar and salt dissolve completely. Place the vegetables in a bowl and pour the warm liquid over them. Let sit for about 30 minutes, then drain. Note: add shredded daikon radish if you have some.

Wrap
tortilla or other wrapping apparatus
mayonnaise
thinly-sliced cucumber
leftover chicken or other meat or tofu (if you use tofu, cut it into small batons and toss it in mayo and some of the pickling liquid)
quick-pickled vegetables
fresh cilantro (I like LOTS of cilantro, as you can see from the photo)

Warm the tortilla over a medium flame on your gas stove (or I guess you could do it on a skillet, or if you MUST, in the microwave). Spread desired amount of mayonnaise (I used 1 full serving because I freaking love mayo) down the middle of the tortilla, then lay however much of the rest of your ingredients nicely on top (I used 3 oz. of chicken). Wrap it up and eat it. If you've got a baguette and the calories available to eat one, then by all means, do it up right!

For the meat filling, you can use all kinds of things. From ham to pâté to meatballs, almost anything will work. Just make sure whatever it you use isn't seasoned in a way that will clash with the lovely Vietnamese flavors.

Makes 1 wrap.

Chao Ga

Chao ga is Vietnamese rice porridge, like congee, with chicken. It is some of the most comforting food I've ever put into my mouth. My brother recently ordered it at the best Vietnamese restaurant in town (Banh Mi So #1), and after I tasted it, I knew I had to try making it. Lucky for us all, today was chilly and rainy, and thus the perfect day for chao ga!

Chao Ga

Broth

1 whole chicken, quartered (use half a chicken if you don't want tons of leftovers)

4-5 cloves garlic, smashed and peeled

3-4 inches fresh ginger root, peeled and chunked

about 20 black peppercorns

1 T salt (or 1-2 T Vietnamese fish sauce, if you like that sort of thing... it's more authentic)

about 6 C cold water

Place the broth ingredients into a stockpot, using just enough water to cover everything (6 cups will be plenty for the porridge, add more as needed to make sure everything is submerged). Cover the pot and bring the liquid to a boil over high heat. Once boiling, reduce the heat and simmer for about 25 minutes, until the chicken meat is cooked (you can just pull it out and check it by piercing it - it's done when the juices run out clear). Pull the cooked chicken out of the pot, let it cool a bit, and remove the meat from the bones. Set the meat aside and place the bones back into the pot of broth. Simmer the broth with the bones, covered, for at least one hour.

Porridge

1/2 T sesame oil

1 small shallot, minced

2 t minced fresh ginger

1 large or 2 small garlic cloves, minced

1 C jasmine rice, rinsed and drained
broth from above

Vietnamese chili-garlic sauce

fried onion or shallot pieces (I am lazy, so I used fried onions from a can, but they're delicious, so sue me)

fresh cilantro

In a large saucepan, heat the sesame oil over medium heat. Add the shallot, ginger, and garlic and stir for about a minute. Add the rice and cook for another 30 seconds, stirring constantly. Strain the broth into the pot and bring to a boil (you may need to add water, depending on the consistency you would like... I think 6 cups of liquid to 1 cup of rice is good). Turn the heat down, cover, and simmer for 30-40 minutes, until the rice is very tender and the liquid starts to thicken. While the rice is cooking, shred the cooled chicken (yeah, I had a lot left over... on purpose).  Ladle the porridge into bowls and top with the chili-garlic sauce, desired amount of chicken, fried onion/shallot, and fresh cilantro.

Mix it all up and devour.

Serves 3 (very filling, could serve 4 with spring rolls!).