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May 29, 2019

Bánh Mi Burger

Inspired by Vietnamese bánh mi sandwiches, this Bánh Mi Burger is loaded with pickled carrots, pickled radishes, cucumbers, cilantro, pickled jalapeños, and spicy sriracha mayonnaise (and a sprinkling of Maggi seasoning sauce). 


Banh mi burger

May is National Burger Month! This post is part of an awesome burger grill giveaway hosted by GirlCarnivore.

I did receive a few goodies from sponsors, but the best stuff is reserved for our readers. There are four prize packages–one per week–and you can enter at the end of this post or over at the official Burger Month page and see all of the bodacious burgers from all of our participants.

Burger Month

What is Bánh Mi? 


Bánh Mi is a Vietnamese sandwich created by street vendors almost a century ago. The sandwiches were inspired by the French snack of bread spread with pâté. They evolved into a combination of meats, pickle, fresh vegetables, mayonnaise and sauces, all on a crispy baguette. 

Because I live close to Little Saigon, I am lucky enough to have Bánh Mi sandwich shops everywhere, including one owned by the Vietnamese Madonna

Besides the bread and the ubiquitous Maggi seasoning, one of the key elements of these sandwiches is pickled vegetables. 

Banh mi burger pickles

For this burger, I made quick pickled carrots, radishes, and red onions. I also added some store bought pickled jalapeños. You could also include pickled snow peas, shallots, and cabbage. 

Next, I made a spicy sriracha mayo, which I schmeared on sliced and hollowed out rolls. 

Banh mi burger mayo

I also sprinkled the mayo with a few drizzles of Maggi seasoning sauce. 

What is Maggi Seasoning? 


Amazingly, Maggi Seasoning is something I've kept in my pantry forever to add some color and flavor to gravies and meat sauces. I had no idea that it was such a key ingredient in bánh mi. It evidently was created in Switzerland in the 1880s and was introduced to Vietnam by the French colonizers. 

And then there's the bread.

Banh mi burger bread

The secret to good bread for bánh mi is that it has to have thin but crispy crust, and a soft and tender crumb. If you'd like to try making your own, here is a recipe.

If you don't want to bake your own, you can use Mexican bolillo rolls, Kaiser rolls, hoagie rolls, or supermarket style French or Italian rolls. You don't want a super crusty artisan-style bread.

Be sure to hollow out the rolls that you use. You can save the bread you tear out of the middle of loaf for bread crumbs.

After you smear the bread with the mayo and sprinkle it with the Maggi seasoning, add a seasoned and cooked burger, and top with some of the pickled veggies.

Banh mi burger with pickles

Next, add the pickled carrots and the fresh cucumbers.

Banh mi burger with pickles and fresh veggies

Top the burger with a pile of cilantro....

Banh mi burger with pickles, fresh veggies, and cilantro

And then top with the top of the bread, which has also been smeared with the sriracha mayo and sprinkled with Maggi seasoning.

Banh mi burger sandwich with pickles, fresh veggies, and cilantro

These burgers were pretty awesome. I love the flavors from the pickles and fresh veggies, and the spicy mayo is a sauce I will spread on all of my burgers from now on.

P.S. I could eat the pickled red onions right out of the jar with my fingers straight from the refrigerator (perhaps I did...).

P.P.S. I've got two great bánh mi sandwich recipes you should try. First, try this Maggi Steak Bánh Mi sandwich with daikon and carrot pickle. If you're feeling adventurous, you must try this Caramel Shrimp Bánh Mi sandwich. So delicious.

Here's the fabulous Burger Month Giveaway! Be sure to enter because the prizes are epic.

Girl Carnivore giveaway


Bánh Mi Burger Recipe


Yield: 4 burgers
Author:
Inspired by Vietnamese bánh mi sandwiches, this Bánh Mi Burger is loaded with pickled carrots, pickled radishes, cucumbers, cilantro, pickled jalapeños, and spicy sriracha mayonnaise (and a sprinkling of Maggi seasoning sauce).

ingredients:

For the Spicy Sriracha Mayo
  • 1/2 cup mayonnaise
  • 3 tablespoons sriracha sauce
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • 1 teaspoon soy sauce
For the Carrot Pickle
  • 1 large carrot, cut into matchsticks
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 2/3 cup distilled white vinegar
  • 1/2 cup water
For the Pickled Radishes
  • 3 large radishes, thinly sliced
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 2/3 cup distilled white vinegar
  • 1/2 cup water
For the Pickled Red Onions
  • 1 medium red onion, peeled, halved, and thinly sliced. 
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 6 tablespoons sugar
  • 1/3 cup water
  • 2/3 cup distilled white vinegar
For the Burgers
  • 1 pound ground beef
  • Salt, pepper, and granulated garlic
  • 4 burger rolls, preferably bánh mi style, hollowed out
  • Maggi seasoning sauce
  • Pickled jalapeño peppers
  • 2 Persian cucumbers, thinly sliced
  • Chopped cilantro, including stems

instructions:

How to cook Bánh Mi Burger Recipe

To Make the the Spicy Sriracha Mayo
  1. Mix the mayonnaise, sriracha, sugar, and soy sauce. Refrigerate until ready to assemble the burger. 
To Make the Carrot Pickle
  1. Toss the carrots with the salt and 1 teaspoon of the sugar. Massage the carrots with the salt and sugar for about 3 minutes. 
  2. Rinse the carrots with water and drain. Transfer to a jar. 
  3. Stir together the rest of the sugar with the vinegar and water until the sugar dissolves. Pour over the carrots in the jar. Cover and refrigerate for at least an hour. 
  4. The carrots will be good for up to a month. 
To make the Radish Pickle
  1. Toss the radishes with the salt and 1 teaspoon of the sugar. Massage the radishes with the salt and sugar for about 1 minute.
  2. Rinse the radishes with water and drain. Transfer to a jar.
  3. Stir together the rest of the sugar with the vinegar and water until the sugar dissolves. Pour over the carrots in the jar. Cover and refrigerate for at least an hour.
To make the Red Onion Pickle
  1. Pack the onion slices into a 2-cup jar. 
  2. Combine the salt, sugar, water, and vinegar in a saucepan. Bring to a boil and them remove from the heat. 
  3. Pour the mixture over the onions. Let sit, uncovered, until cooled. 
  4. Cover and refrigerate overnight. 
  5. These will last up to a month. 
To make the Burgers
  1. Season the ground beef with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. 
  2. Divide the beef into four equal portions and form each portion into a patty. 
  3. Heat a griddle or grill over medium heat, and cook the beef, about 4 to 5 minutes per side, until cooked to desired doneness. Remove the patties to a plate, tent with foil, and let rest for five minutes. 
  4. Spread the spicy mayo over both sides of the bread and sprinkle with Maggi seasoning. 
  5. Place a patty on top of one half of the bread. 
  6. Add the pickled and fresh veggies, and top with the other half of the bread. 
  7. ENJOY! 
Burger, Banh Mi, sandwich
Burgers
Vietnamese
Created using The Recipes Generator

Here are all of the epic Burger Month participants!

🍔 Girl Carnivore 🍔 A Kitchen Hoor's Adventures 🍔 A Simple Pantry 🍔 Abra's Kitchen 🍔 AcadiaTwo’s Kitchen Antics 🍔 An Affair from the Heart 🍔 Bakersbeans 🍔 Betsi's World 🍔Bowl Me Over 🍔by Sarah Halstead 🍔Caroline's Cooking 🍔 Cindy's Recipes and Writings 🍔 City Living Boston 🍔 Cluttercafe 🍔 Cooking With Carlee 🍔 Convos with Karen 🍔Daily Dish Recipes 🍔 Dance Around The Kitchen 🍔 Dixie Chik Cooks 🍔 Dizzy Busy and Hungry 🍔 Doodlecraft 🍔 Everyday Eileen 🍔 Family Around the Table 🍔 Family Food on the Table 🍔 Family Spice 🍔Farmwife Feeds 🍔Food Above Gold 🍔 For the Love of Food 🍔 Grillax.com 🍔 Grilling Montana 🍔 Grumpy's Honeybunch 🍔 Hezzi-D's Books and Cooks 🍔 Honeybunch Hunts 🍔 Intelligent Domestications 🍔 It Is a Keeper 🍔 Jersey Girl Books 🍔 Jolene's Recipe Journal 🍔 Jonesin For Taste 🍔 Juggling Act Mama 🍔 Karen's Kitchen Stories 🍔 Kate's Recipe Box 🍔 Krazy Kitchen Mom 🍔 Life Anchored 🍔 Life of a Ginger 🍔 Mildly Meandering 🍔 Miss in the KItchen 🍔 Palatable Pastime 🍔 Pastry Chef Online 🍔 Perspective Portions 🍔 Plowing Through Life 🍔 PNW Eats 🍔 Pook's Pantry 🍔 Real Life With Dad 🍔 Sarah's Cucina Bella 🍔 Seduction In The Kitchen 🍔 Simple and Savory 🍔 Souffle Bombay 🍔 Spiced 🍔 Spoonabilities 🍔 Strawberry Blondie Kitchen 🍔 SueBee Homemaker 🍔 Sumptuous Spoonfuls 🍔 Sweet ReciPeas 🍔 Swirls of Flavor 🍔 Take Two Tapas 🍔 Tampa Cake Girl 🍔 Taste And See 🍔 The Baking Fairy 🍔 The Beard and The Baker 🍔 The Complete Savorist 🍔 The Heritage Cookbook Project 🍔 The Keto Guy 🍔 The Redhead Baker 🍔 The Rowdy Baker 🍔 The Schmidty Wife 🍔 The Shirley Journey 🍔 The Spiffy Cookie 🍔 This Farm Girl Cooks 🍔 Thyme for Cocktails 🍔 We are not Martha 🍔 Well Fed Baker 🍔 West Via Midwest 🍔 What’s Cooking Italian Style Cuisine 🍔 Who Needs A Cape? 🍔 Wildflour's Cottage Kitchen 🍔 Wok & Skillet 🍔 Zest & Simmer 🍔


a Rafflecopter giveaway A huge thanks to the #BurgerMonth sponsors for the Ultimate Burger Grilling Giveaway: Cabot Cheese, Char-Griller Grills, Crow Canyon Home, Porter Road, Melissas Produce, Red Duck, Spiceology, & Western BBQ

This giveaway is open until June 5th! 

Would you like to comment?

  1. Your Banh Mi burger looks so delicious, and that bread! I'm glad I came here just for the bread recipe too. Thanks!!!

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  2. I bet those pickled flavors are so bright on the Banh Mi burger. Yum!

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    1. They are! I loved the bright flavors. Thanks!

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  3. I absolutely love the idea of a banh mi burger and need to make this. So much flavor! One of my favorite sandwiches combined with my love of burgers? Heck yea

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    1. Thanks Erin! It's one of my favorite sandwiches too.

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  4. I'm drooling over here! I love the Asian fusion in this burger! The pickled veggies are such a pro move! I've used them before for Asian Sloppy Joes so I know this combo would be fantastic!

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    1. Thanks Holly! I love your sloppy joe concept!

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  5. You have left no stone unturned when creating the flavors for this burger! The bonus is that bread recipe! Oh My YUM!

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  6. I am loving all the flavors and textures of this one, and it's so colorful too!

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  7. Such wonderful flavors! Can't wait to try this!

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  8. There are so many layers to bahn mi. And that sauce? I had no idea. I have something similar but haven't used it ever. Now, I have a reason to dig it out of the pantry. Because I have to make this burger. It looks awesome.

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