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These colorful Vietnamese-inspired 25 Minute Ginger Sesame Banh Mi Rice Bowls are full of fresh flavors and made so simply. The ground chicken, or pork, is cooked in a sweet soy chili sauce until caramelized around the edges. It’s then added to bowls of lemongrass rice. A fresh, bright, cucumber herb salad with chunks of avocado is spooned overtop along with quickly pickled carrots. There’s spicy mayo and extra sauce too. It’s a very yummy balance of spicy, sweet, and savory flavors. Altogether, these bowls are so delicious, plus quick to make.
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If you’re not familiar with a Banh Mi sandwich, it’s a Vietnamese sandwich. It’s usually made with a baguette-style sub roll that’s layered with cripy pork or chicken. Then a spicy mayo is spread on top with pickled veggies, cucumbers, spicy chilies, and fresh herbs. It’s also traditional to add liver pate, but you’ll notice I left that out of these bowls. It’s not something I can easily find.
The flavors combined are fresh, with just the right amount of spiciness, and great umami flavors all around.
It’s such a yummy sandwich!
I’ve never made a traditional banh mi, they can sometimes be time intensive depending on the method used. But these bowls are the next best thing!
And so quick to make too, which we just love! These bowls aren’t traditional, but a nice, quick way to enjoy similar flavors.
The details on these bowls
To start, I do make my own lemongrass rice. It’s super simple but totally optional.
Lemongrass is such a star ingredient that’s so underused. When cooked, it has a subtle citrusy, lemony flavor with a bit of mintiness in there too.
It’s a very light refreshing flavor and I love cooking it into the rice. The lemongrass really compliments these bowls.
I cook the rice in coconut milk for a creamy, coconut flavor along with lemongrass paste and Thai jasmine rice. Simply let the rice steam while you prepare the bowls.
While that’s cooking away, I make the cucumber salad.
Lots of fresh herbs, I use a mix of cilantro and Thai basil. If you enjoy mint, add that too! Then, refreshing cucumber, avocado, toasted sesame seeds, roasted peanuts, a little spice from a serrano pepper, and a simple lime dressing.
Just toss everything together in a bowl, no fancy steps.
And now the meat. You can use chicken or pork, I usually do a mix of the two. Then a couple of shallots and garlic. Then add chili paste, tamari or soy, fish sauce, and maple syrup. Oh, plus some black pepper.
Now the KEY, pickled ginger. I added this at the last minute and it ended up being the most delicious addition. The picked ginger quickly caramelizes and becomes sweet and just addicting. You will love it.
Finish it up
Layer each bowl with lots of rice, then the meat, and any extra sauce. Top each bowl with the cucumber salad and spicy mayo.
Enjoy immediately…and that’s it! This takes less than 30 minutes to make and it’s delicious and fun! All those fresh herbs really make the difference.
Looking for other quick weeknight dinners? Here are some favorites:
Sheet Pan Poblano Chicken Fajita Bowls.
Cauliflower Tzatziki Bowls with Sweet Potato Fries
30 Minute Garlic Butter Chicken Pad Thai
Coconut Popcorn Chicken with Sweet Thai Chili Lime Sauce
30 Minute Sticky Thai Meatballs with Sesame Noodles
Better Than Takeout Sweet Thai Basil Chicken
Lastly, if you make these 25 Minute Banh Mi Rice Bowls, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
25 Minute Banh Mi Rice Bowls
Ingredients
Cucumber Herb Salad
- 2 Persian cucumbers, chopped
- 1 Serrano or jalapeño pepper, seeded and sliced
- 1 cup mixed fresh herbs, chopped
- 3 tablespoons mixed sesame seeds and peanuts
- 2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
- 2 tablespoons lime juice
- 1 avocado, cubed
Banh Mi Meat
- 2 tablespoons sesame or olive oil
- 1 1/2 pounds ground chicken or ground pork
- 2 shallots, chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1/2 cup tamari
- 2 tablespoons fish sauce
- 1-3 tablespoons chili paste
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- 1 cup shredded or pickled carrots
- 1/3 cup pickled ginger
- 3-4 cups cooked rice, for serving
- spicy mayo, for serving
Instructions
- 1. To make the salad. Combine everything in a bowl and gently toss. Season with salt 2. To Make the meat. In a bowl, mix the tamari, fish sauce, chili paste, and maple syrup. Add 1/3 cup water. Set a few tablespoons of the sauce aside for serving, if desired. 3. Heat the oil, meat, shallots, and garlic in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook, breaking up the meat as it cooks, until browned, 5 minutes. Add the sauce. Cook another 5 minutes, until the meat is crispy. Add the pickled ginger, and let cook for 1 minute. Remove from the heat. 3. Spoon the meat over bowls of rice. Top with the herb salad, pickled carrots, and spicy mayo. Drizzle over the extra sauce. Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Did you make this recipe? Please rate & comment below.
Amazing recipe with great flavor. Really well done!
What on earth is all the drama with people complaining about nothing?
Screw them! Keep up the great work!
I used the turmeric lemongrass paste you sometimes use in other recipes. Not the right flavor probably but it still tasted delicious! I even forgot the sesame oil in the salad and it was still delightful. Will be making again, and next time I will follow directions 🙂
I and my family love so many HBH recipes, and even then I think this now is one of our favorites. Those pickled carrots make a difference — do not skip that ingredient! Thanks again, Tieghan — another winner!
Hey, Tieghan. When you say “1/3 water” for making the rice, do you mean 1/3 cup?
Thanks!
Hi there,
Yes, you will use 1/3 cup of water:) xx
These were so delicious and unique! I mostly followed your recipe but used a chicken/mushroom meat blend that I had leftover from lettuce wraps the night before. I also could not find lemongrass paste so I used a little lemon zest in the rice.
You have so many creative recipes that are blends of flavors and cooking styles! You inspire me to try new things when I cook, making it so much more fun. Thank you!
Made this last night and loved everything. Do not skimp on pickled veggies. I did the carrots, red onions and jalapeños.
This sounds amazing! But what an unexpected treat to read these comments, like people thought it would be an actual banh mi sandwich stuffed into a bowl, and they were shocked and outraged when they realized it’s not an actual sandwich. But I’m sure they’re cool with stuffing their faces full of Taco salad and pizza rolls and wouldn’t think twice about it…wait until they hear about the Pho-rito that everyone serving out here, they’ll really freak!
It’s because it literally means bread. So yes, one would assume it has bread. A bread bowl that didn’t actually have bread would be dumb, no? As is your comment. Taco doesn’t inherently mean tortilla. Try again.
Holt crap, give it a rest. Are you absolutely deranged? Seriously. She can call the damn recipe whatever she wants. You need therapy, preferably the electric shock variety, if you think this is something to get fired up about.
Get help.
You’re one hell of a high-strung, uptight twat, aren’t ya? I mean, you are really affected by this. Holy wow. Talk about loony.
Hey Elizabeth, I could put my sausage in a banh mi, and you can choke on it. Would that shut you up?
You really need to find something better to do with your life.
Banh mi – where is the bread? Inappropriate and appropriating Asian culture again. Do better. Acknowledge your mistakes.
Nobody cares. Save your fake white tears and get a life.
“Appropriating” Asian culture? Not at all – she just used it for inspiration to make something different. Nothing wrong with that at all.
Put a sock in it. You’re hysterical.
The only mistake she made is not deleting stupid comments like these. The recipe is was fantastic though. Sorry about your weird triggers and hang-ups. Maybe see a doctor?
Cant wait to try this! Will use tofu thats been pressed to get the water out and then torn to make edges that pick up all that great sauce!
Easy recipe to riff off too!
You know, this kind of cuisine butchery is really funny, like what if I ordered a sunny side with egg omitted , what do I get? Same with this rice bowl. Banh mi mean bread, good old bread, simple plain bread, where’s the bread, lady? No croutons, no toasted pieces, no nothing. Really half baked way to do your plain bread a favour, isn’t it? And no, banh mi alone mean plain bread, and it’s not a sandwich either, nothing sandwiched, rather it got stuffed, like grilled pork/beef, both chunky and grounded version, onion, your version is quite exotic, to say the least.
WOW! This is the funniest shit I’ve ever seen!!! Its like ordering pasta without pasta!!!
Wow, this is the funniest thing I have ever read, also! It’s like trying to comment on a food blog without having a brain. Good going! Now please, grow up.
Dear god, get over yourself. Your rant is nothing but unhinged garbled gibberish. Aren’t you embarrassed? Please get a hobby. Preferably not as a food critic. It’s not your strong suit.
Easy and tasty! Thanks for the great recipe.
Delicious. Quick overall to make with fairly simple ingredients. I used fresh cilantro, basil, and thyme for the herbs. Very good as leftovers as well, thanks for another great recipe!!
When does stupidity ends? Go educate yourself and get a life.
Did you just suggest to someone that they should “go educate themselves” right after asking, “When does stupidity ends?” Oh, the irony. This is pure comedy gold. Nina, you may want to consider taking your own advice. You can barely form a sentence, darling.
Loved this bowl! It was super easy to prepare and the result was fabulous on the tastebuds! I subbed the lemon grass rice for a lime leaf ginger rice. It was perfect. Thank you for all your delicious recipes Tieghan!
Yum! I’ve never had the real deal of this dish but loved this one! Was super easy! I found a recipe to pickle the carrots beforehand for half hour. Will deff be adding to my make again list.
Don’t bother. The original is rubbish. Tieghan’s version is a massive upgrade.
This was amazing! So many colors and the flavors were fabulous. It really did come together in the 20/25 minute range which is perfect for a quick dinner. Thanks for sharing
My goodness. People can be so harsh.
Just made this tonight and we thoroughly enjoyed it and will most definitely put it in rotation. Does it remind me of a Bahn Mi, not so much but are the flavors delicious? Absolutely! Thank you for a delicious recipe!
These people ranting and complaining about a bloody rice bowl are not “harsh”. They are straight up mentally ill. I would recommend a lobotomy, but it seems most, if not all of them have already had one.