These Chicken Banh Mi Tacos are bursting with fresh Vietnamese flavor, served in taco form! It’s a match made in heaven, and it will be your new favorite mash-up recipe.
Marinated chicken thigh meat is cooked until browned, then served on toasted corn tortillas with pickled carrots and radishes, a homemade spicy mayo, and cool garnishes like cucumber, cilantro, and green onion. And this gluten free recipe only takes 25 minutes to throw together (minus marinating time)!
Banh mi is a wonderfully delicious Vietnamese sandwich, traditionally made with pork and served on a baguette. When I lived in New Orleans, they were often called “Vietnamese Po’ Boys.” I’d get them at least once a week for lunch.
A baguette may not sound traditionally Vietnamese, and it isn’t. But the banh mi sandwich has become a popular street food in Vietnam after the baguette was introduced in the mid-19th century, when the country was part of French Indonesia (and actually, bánh mì means bread, or baguette, in Vietnamese!).
Banh mi has become increasingly popular here in the United States, and you can likely find a great Vietnamese restaurant near you that serves it.
You might also love this twist on the sandwich: Bánh Mì Hot Dogs!
Or, you can make these tacos at home!
These banh mi tacos are a great gluten-free alternative to a traditional sandwich served on a baguette. They are served on toasted corn tortillas, which are also much lighter and lower carb than a baguette.
First, let’s talk about the chicken.
I used chicken thigh meat for this. Why? Because it’s cheaper, because it’s harder to overcook, and because I thought the texture and fat content would be more comparable to pork, which is traditionally used in banh mi sandwiches.
The chicken meat is cut into 1/2 inch cubes, which means it cooks up SO fast. It only takes about 5 minutes!
It’s marinated in a mixture of sugar, fish sauce, garlic, and lime juice/zest, with a little chili garlic sauce mixed in for a kick. This base is sweet, savory, fresh, and spicy – all my favorite flavors at once.
No need to add salt to the marinade – the fish sauce has tons of it already.
The pickled veggie mixture is a cinch to make.
Traditionally, the pickled veggie mixture on banh mi sandwiches includes carrots and daikon, a mild winter radish popular in South Asia. I used regular red radishes for this, since my grocery store doesn’t have daikon.
I used matchstick cut carrots (and I bought them that way from the store, which saved a lot of prep time!) and thinly sliced radishes. I mixed them with a little sugar and salt, along with some rice vinegar and water.
You can leave the chicken and veggies marinating for 24 hours, or at a minimum for one hour. Just toss the veggies every so often, or shake them up if they are in a container.
The spicy mayo is super easy to make as well, and can be made in advance or just before serving. And bonus: the leftovers, if there are any, are great on sandwiches!
I used mayonnaise, more chili garlic sauce, and some rice vinegar to make the spicy mayo. The vinegar made it a bit thinner (perfect for spreading on tacos) and gave it a little tang. You can also take it up a notch and add soy sauce, lime juice, and toasted sesame oil, as I do in this homemade spicy mayo recipe.
And by the way, you can use sriracha instead of chili garlic sauce in both the chicken marinade and in the spicy mayo if you prefer.
Finally, please don’t be put off by the long ingredients list here. I promise this is SO easy to make, and you likely already have a bunch of this stuff in your fridge or pantry already!
If you like this recipe, you’ll love these Easy Vietnamese Pork Bun Bowls.
ALSO DID YOU KNOW IT’S NATIONAL TACO DAY?? Check out some of these awesome taco recipes from some other favorite bloggers!
- Vegan Buffalo Cauliflower Tacos by Whitney Bond
- Slow Cooker Korean Beef Tacos by Slow Cooker Gourmet
- Cajun Chicken Street Tacos by Beautifully Broken Journey
Did you know commenting and rating recipes is one of the best ways you can support your favorite food bloggers? If you made this recipe or have a question, please click the stars below to comment and Rate this Recipe and/or share photos on social media using the hashtag #bowlofdelicious or tagging @bowlofdelicious!
Chicken Banh Mi Tacos
Ingredients
For the Chicken:
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 2 tablespoons fish sauce
- juice and zest of one lime
- 1 teaspoon chili garlic sauce or sriracha
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 1.5 lbs. boneless skinless chicken thighs cut into 1/2" cubes
- 1 tablespoon canola oil or other neutral tasting oil
For the Pickled Veggies:
- 1 cup carrots matchstick-cut
- 1/2 cup radishes thinly sliced
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1/2 tablespoon kosher salt
- 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 2 tablespoons water
For the Spicy Mayo:
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
- 1 tablespoon chili garlic sauce or sriracha
For Serving the Tacos:
- 8 corn tortillas toasted (flour can also be used)
- thinly sliced cucumbers, chopped fresh cilantro and/or mint, sliced green onions and/or jalapeños for garnish
Instructions
- To prepare the chicken: Mix the sugar (2 tablespoons), fish sauce (2 tablespoons), lime juice and zest, chili garlic sauce (1 teaspoon), and minced garlic cloves together in a medium bowl or container. Add the cubed chicken and stir to coat. Cover and refrigerate, and marinate for at least one hour (or overnight).
- To prepare the pickled veggies: Toss the carrots and radishes with the sugar (1 tablespoon) and kosher salt (1/2 tablespoon) in a medium bowl or container. Pour the rice vinegar (2 tablespoons) and water (2 tablespoons) over and stir together. Cover and refrigerate for at least one hour (or overnight), stirring/shaking occasionally.
- To prepare the spicy mayo: mix all ingredients together. This can be done just before serving or up to 24 hours in advance.
- Remove chicken from marinade with a slotted spoon. Cook in a heavy skillet (such as cast iron) over medium high heat in canola oil (1 tablespoon) until browned and fully cooked.
- Serve tacos on toasted corn tortillas (I usually toast them in a dry skillet or directly over my gas burners, carefully!) layered with the chicken, pickled veggies, spicy mayo, and garnishes.
Notes
- Time saving tip: you can usually buy matchstick-cut carrots already cut at the grocery store.
- Make ahead: make sure to leave time for at least one hour of marinating!
- The provided nutrition information does not include any added sodium from seasoning to taste, any optional ingredients, and it does not take brands into account. Feel free to calculate it yourself using this calculator or by adding the recipe to Yummly.
Nutrition
Nutrition Information Disclaimer
The provided nutrition information is my best estimate and reflects one serving of the recipe (total servings indicated at top of recipe card). It does not include any added sodium from seasoning to taste, any optional ingredients, and it does not take brands into account. I use an automatic API to calculate this information. Feel free to calculate it yourself using one of these tools:
April
These are hands down the best tacos I’ve ever had. Probably in the top five best dishes I’ve ever made. I wish I had savored them more because dinner was over way to quickly.
Some slight alterations in case it would be helpful to a reader-
Marinating: I used oyster sauce instead of fish sauce because I had it on hand, sesame oil instead of canola, whole garlic cloves smashed a little, skipped lime zest and just added a little more juice because I forgot to get an actual lime, and I didn’t cube the chicken until I went to cook it since it was still frozen when I went to prepare it about 26 hours in advance.
I skipped the cucumber because I was skeptical of it but will definitely try it next time.
The pickled veggies were made like a week ago and those were perfection like everything else.
Two thumbs way up!
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it!
Liz
Oh my gosh. So freaking delicious!! New favorite tacos. 10/10
Elizabeth Lindemann
Aw yay! So glad you liked it :-)
Evelyn
I was excited for this recipe. I had 2lbs of chicken thighs so I doubled the ingredients because I like strong flavors but once it’s was done it was very bland and looked like boiled chicken. The spicy mayo was also a miss. Once making it I noticed it was too much mayo for the amount of siracha used. I ended up using less than .5 cup and put more sauce and left it over night. Sorry but this one was a miss.
Elizabeth Lindemann
Bummer! Sorry you had a frustrating experience with this recipe. I’d love to help troubleshoot this, for next time or anyone else reading this.
With regard to the chicken, my guess is that it wasn’t cooked at a high enough heat if it turned out looking like “boiled” chicken. Get your skillet SUPER hot, then add the oil, and add the chicken and let it sit without stirring or flipping too much in order to develop nice browning. The brown color helps add flavor, especially because the sugars in the marinade will caramelize.
As for the mayo, I love spicy food so I often use more sriracha or chili garlic paste than 1 tablespoon to 1/2 cup mayo, but I also tend to write my recipes suitable for a more mild palette. The sauce would be delicious with double, or even triple the amount of hot sauce if you like spicy flavor!
I also want to make a note that if you use low-sodium fish sauce, or low-sodium or low-fat mayo, the flavor of both the chicken and the sauce may be lacking.
Hope that helps and better luck next time!
Jasmine
Is this 600 calories for all 4 servings? Or for one serving?
Elizabeth Lindemann
Good question! For just one serving. BUT. I realized that I didn’t take into account the leftover marinade from the chicken and pickles. I made some adjustments which brought it down to more like 570 (for two tacos). If you want to lighten it up, I recommend using chicken breasts instead of thighs, and topping the tacos off with a little less spicy mayo. Hope that helps!
JB
We’ve been on a weekly taco quest over the last few months, rating each recipe in terms of meat, toppings, and visual appeal. This was our 13th recipe. This is the only recipe that has received the perfect score in each category. I’ve never seen my wife enjoy any tacos more than these tacos. The quest has ended. Thank you.
Elizabeth Lindemann
Oh my goodness what an amazing comment- thanks so much! So glad you and your wife liked it!
Cass
Can the chicken be slow cooked instead of pan fried after marinating?
Elizabeth Lindemann
I don’t see why not! I recommend keeping the chicken thighs whole, rather than cubing then, and when they’re done cooking, shred them and mix them with the juices from cooking. It should take 5-6 hours on low. YUM, I think I’m going to try that next time! Thanks so much for the idea! The one downside is that you won’t have any browned parts that you would get from sautéing in a pan.
Whitney Bond
Such a fantastic, flavorful twist on tacos!
Elizabeth
Thanks so much!
Ellen
Just made these for dinner. Very big hit! The flavors work well together and it’s a fun, customizable meal.
Elizabeth
So happy you liked them!
Jasmine
I’ve made these several times with chicken and steak. It’s always a bit! Soooo soo good. Especially the veggies! I use cucumbers instead of radish. Thanks for this! Will make often
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it, and great idea to use cucumbers!