How to Make Chef John's Fried Bologna Banh Mi Bites
Join Chef John in this video tutorial on how to make Fried Bologna Banh Mi Bites! Transform ordinary ingredients into extraordinary flavor with this unique twist on a classic Vietnamese sandwich. It won’t take long to learn how to craft these bite-sized banh mi delights, bringing a fusion of flavors to your next gathering. Elevate your appetizer game with this easy and flavorful recipe!
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LifestyleTranscript
00:00 Hello this is Chef John from FoodWishes.com with Fried Bologna Banh Mi Bites.
00:09 That's right this one bite Banh Mi is based on the world's most underrated sandwich which
00:14 of course is fried bologna on white bread.
00:17 And while I really don't care who wins the game I do care who wins best food at the party.
00:21 And if you make these that will be you.
00:23 And to get started what we'll do first is julienne some carrots and some daikon radish
00:29 which sounds a lot harder than it is probably because of the French word.
00:33 But all it means is cutting vegetables into small little matchsticks.
00:37 And what we'll do after tasting the tip of the carrot is cut a few sections the exact
00:41 length we want to fit over our bologna piece.
00:44 And then to do this safely we will cut a piece off the side so that we can turn our carrot
00:49 and have it sitting on a nice flat base so it doesn't move while we're slicing it.
00:54 And then all we need to do is cut straight down like this every eighth inch or so or
00:58 maybe even a little less.
01:00 And then to finish our julienne we will stack up a few slices and we will cut it across
01:05 lengthwise and if we move our knife over the same distance as the width of those slices
01:10 we should end up with some very uniform pieces.
01:13 And by the way this would be a great time to tell you we absolutely do not need perfectly
01:17 uniform pieces.
01:19 But visually it is nice if they're somewhat close.
01:22 So that's how we're going to julienne our carrots and then we'll do the exact same thing
01:26 with some pieces of daikon which by the way is easy to find in stores these days.
01:31 But if you can't regular large radishes will work.
01:34 And yes it definitely takes longer to do this by hand but the good news is a little bit's
01:39 going to go a long way.
01:40 So even if you cut very slow and carefully this still shouldn't take you very long.
01:45 But having said that if you want to take a shortcut you can definitely use a vegetable
01:48 slicer or if we need to do a lot quickly we could even use a grater.
01:54 And if you haven't done it before you might be surprised to learn it is actually very
01:58 relaxing and kind of fun to cut vegetables like this.
02:01 And if you want to improve your knife skills this is a great way to practice.
02:06 But anyway you decide.
02:08 I mean you are after all the QB of your fried bologna bahn mi.
02:12 But no matter what method you use once those are cut we'll transfer those into a bowl and
02:17 then besides our carrot and radish I think we should also use some English cucumber which
02:22 I've cut into the same shape as well as some thinly sliced jalapeno and then we'll finish
02:27 up with some fresh cilantro.
02:30 And that is going to be it for our vegetation.
02:33 And once that's set we can move on to the base which is going to be a slice of baguette
02:38 spread with a spicy hoisin mayonnaise which we will make by adding some hoisin to some
02:43 mayo plus as much sriracha hot sauce as we see fit.
02:47 And personally I do think these should be on the spicy side.
02:51 But of course adjust that to your taste.
02:53 And that's it once we have that mixed up we will set it aside and we'll grab one standard
02:58 loaf of baguette and after cutting off the end we'll make slices straight across every
03:04 quarter inch or so.
03:06 And I guess if you wanted you could toast these slices before applying the mayonnaise.
03:11 But generally the bahn mi's I've had have not been toasted and I think the untoasted
03:15 bread actually works better here since the crunch is going to come from the veggies.
03:20 But anyway once our bread is sliced we'll go ahead and spread that with our hoisin mayonnaise
03:25 and then arrange that on some kind of serving plate or platter.
03:29 And then what we'll do once we're ready to assemble these right before we fry our bologna
03:33 is add a couple tablespoons of seasoned rice vinegar to our radish and carrots and we will
03:38 toss that until it's evenly coated and then we'll let that sit for about 10 to 15 minutes
03:42 absorbing that vinegar before we use it to top our bahn mi.
03:47 And that's it we can finally move on to the star of the show.
03:50 Some sliced bologna.
03:52 And to prep this all we have to do is cut it in half and then into quarters.
03:57 And I'm not going to tell you exactly what brand I'm using but I will give you a good
04:01 hint this bologna has a first name and a last name and it's found in every grocery store
04:09 and it has the perfect thickness for frying up for a sandwich.
04:13 Speaking of which once that's cut we'll head over to the stove where we're going to brown
04:17 this up over medium high heat and a little bit of melted butter and how long this is
04:22 going to take really depends on how crispy and caramelized you want your bologna.
04:27 Okay I definitely do like some nice dark crispy edges but fair warning if you go too too far
04:32 and the meat actually burns it can get a bitter taste so we do want to be careful and pay
04:38 attention to that.
04:40 And I said medium high heat but if you want to play it safe you could back it down more
04:44 towards medium which will slow the crisping process and give you a little more time to
04:49 make your decisions.
04:50 But anyway the point is the heat can be turned down.
04:53 Right that is just you cooking and no they're not all going to finish at the same time so
04:58 make sure you're paying attention.
05:00 And that's it once our bologna pieces are nice and browned and possibly a little bit
05:04 crisp around the edges we'll go ahead and lay that down on our hoisin mayonnaise bread.
05:10 And if you are using that bologna with the first and the last name and you're using a
05:13 fairly standard size baguette it should just about fit perfectly with just a little bit
05:18 of bread exposed so our guests can see what's happening.
05:22 And that's it these are now ready to top with our veggies which I'm going to place carefully
05:26 by hand starting with the cucumber and then once that's on we'll top with our carrot and
05:31 radish which as you saw was tossed with some rice vinegar and then after that's on we'll
05:36 finish up with some jalapeno and then our fresh cilantro leaves.
05:40 And while I'm doing this let me give you some party production tips.
05:44 Okay if you're only going to make a dozen or two like I am I think it's worth the time
05:47 to do these individually since we can put on the exact amount of the ingredient we want
05:53 and they're just going to look a little neater and a little more special but if you're doing
05:56 lots and lots of these for a big party this is probably not the way to go.
06:01 Okay what we'll do for that scenario is mix all our veggies together and then just take
06:05 handfuls and sort of scatter it over our platter and when our guests pick these up they should
06:11 get just about the same amount on top and anything that falls off or stays on the tray
06:16 we will just call that a garnish.
06:18 Oh and after I apply the jalapeno before I put on the cilantro I do like to drizzle these
06:23 with a little more sriracha since as I mentioned I do like these spicy plus that little pop
06:28 of color makes these even look more enticing.
06:31 And that's it we'll finish up with some fresh cilantro and our fried bologna banh mi bites
06:36 are ready to enjoy.
06:38 So let me go ahead and pick one up and go in for the official taste and yes we really
06:42 do want to try to eat these in one bite which I think they're the perfect size for and that
06:48 my friends is everything I want in a bite of banh mi plus we have the added excitement
06:52 of fried bologna which besides being super flavorful also features those butterfried
06:57 crispy edges and believe you me the next time I make a proper banh mi I'm gonna do it with
07:04 fried bologna.
07:05 And then the other thing that makes these so incredible is the contrast between the
07:09 soft rich ingredients and then those raw crispy acidic spicy components.
07:14 Okay if I've said it once I've said it a thousand times cooking is about contrasts and this
07:19 is a perfect one bite example which again is really how we're supposed to eat these
07:25 if you don't veggies might be falling off and after the party you'll be vacuuming up
07:29 julienne vegetables so please instruct your guest eat these in one bite which I'm gonna
07:34 start doing now.
07:36 And of course if you're just not going to use bologna under any circumstances that's
07:40 fine I understand you probably read the ingredient label but the good news is even if you don't
07:46 use bologna I think this idea would still work beautifully for a party no matter what
07:51 meat or vegetables you use but whether you switch things up or make them exactly as shown
07:57 these are beautiful to look at and delicious to eat and I really do hope you give these
08:01 a try soon.
08:03 So please follow the links below for the ingredient amounts a printable written recipe and much
08:08 more info as usual and as always enjoy.
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