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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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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