Recipe: Nini Nguyen's Sticky Fried Shrimp Bánh Mì
This recipe is involved, but worth it.
This recipe comes by way of Vietnamese American chef, Nini Nguyen’s new cookbook, Dặc Biệt, which translates to “luxurious” or “special” and draws from her New Orleans roots! This recipe is involved. Nini shares directions for making nearly every step from scratch—from the distinctive bread, or bánh, to the Vietnamese aioli and addictive fish sauce caramel—but if you choose to cut a few corners and go straight to the fried shrimp filling, I won’t tell… — Leslie
There are many obvious similarities between New Orleans po boys and Vietnamese bánh mì, which are both essential sandwiches in the city. They start with the same style of French bread, are built around meat, and are dressed with cool veggies and creamy and spicy sauces to balance everything out. The natural intersection of these two cuisines speaks very directly to me, so I decided to meld them even further into a single sandwich. It’s a true hybrid, like me, and also extremely đặc biệt!
The bánh mì sandwich is incredibly versatile. I’ve gone with fried shrimp (my favorite po boy) for the filling, coated with a fish-sauce caramel. But you can use any protein, topped with any combination of pickled carrot, cilantro, and cucumber. Just don’t skip my Vietnamese Aioli. It’s basically an umami bomb that comes together in literally seconds. If you think you hate mayonnaise, try this recipe and it might convert you. — Nini Nguyen
Makes 4
FRIED SHRIMP1
1 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup cornmeal
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 large egg, beaten
1/2 cup whole milk
2 pounds medium-sized shrimp, shelled and deveined
Neutral oil for frying
SERVING
4 loaves Bánh Mì Bread (recipe follows), or any light, crusty loaves of bread
Vietnamese Aioli / Bơ (recipe follows)
Fish-Sauce Caramel (recipe follows)
1 lime, quartered
Pickled Carrot and Daikon (recipe follows)
1 English cucumber, cut into planks
1/2 cup cilantro, roughly chopped
2 jalapeños, sliced
Soy sauce (optional)
Sambal or Crystal hot sauce (optional)
To Make the Shrimp
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cornmeal, and salt. In another medium bowl, combine the egg with the milk, then add all of the shrimp.
Working in batches, remove the shrimp from the milk mixture, let the excess drip off, and add the shrimp to the bowl with the flour mixture. Toss to coat. Place the coated shrimp on a plate, and let sit for about 10 minutes, to allow the breading to dry.
When ready to fry the shrimp, fill a medium- sized pot with about 2 inches of oil, and heat to 360°F. Working in batches, add the shrimp and fry for 2 to 3 minutes until golden brown. Remove to a plate lined with a paper towel to drain.
To Assemble the Bánh Mì
Toast the bread and cut it in half lengthwise. Spread aioli on both sides of the bread. Top with fried shrimp, drizzle with Fish- Sauce Caramel, and spritz with lime juice. Add Pickled Carrot and Daikon, cucumber, cilantro, jalapeños, and a couple of dashes of soy sauce and/or sambal/hot sauce to taste.
Bánh Mì Bread
There’s no dish that people associate as directly with the word bánh as this crusty, French- style bread. The term “bánh mì” could refer to the bread itself or the sandwich. So if you want to specify plain bread you might want to say “bánh mì không” and to refer to the sandwich you should say “bánh mì ô.”
Making loaves yourself is an especially đặc biệt way to approach the famous bánh mì sandwich. And it’s also surprisingly easy; it just requires some time and patience, like most breads. The trick is to use lime juice, which sounds weird. But the vitamin C helps activate the gluten, so you don’t have to spend a lot of time kneading the dough.
Makes 4 long loaves or 6 short loaves
12 grams sugar
15 grams freshly squeezed lime juice
25 grams vegetable oil or canola oil
7 grams instant yeast
270 grams cold water
450 grams bread flour
7 grams kosher salt
Cooking oil spray
In the bowl of a stand mixer, add all of the ingredients (except the cooking oil spray) in the order listed. Use the hook attachment to help manually work the dough together, to make a shaggy dough.
Place the bowl and hook onto the stand mixer and mix the dough for 5 minutes on medium speed.
Take the dough out and form it into a ball and place it in an oiled bowl. Wrap with plastic wrap and let it double in size. It should take about 1 to 1 1/2 hours, depending on how warm your environment is. If the environment is warmer, the yeast will rise a lot sooner than if the environment is cooler, so be sure to check on it every 20 minutes or so. As soon at it doubles in size you can move to the next step.
Place the dough on an oiled surface, knock out the air, and form it into a ball. Cover the ball in plastic wrap or place an inverted bowl over it and let it rest for 20 minutes.
After 20 minutes, cut the dough into portions (4 or 6) and re-form the pieces into smaller balls. Pinch the dough in the bottom center and roll it in the palm of your hand on the table in a circular motion to make a smooth ball. Spray the dough balls with oil spray and cover. Let them rest for another 15 minutes.
After it rests, form each mound of dough into a ball again by flattening the balls and pinching the dough into itself. Let it rest again, covered, for 10 to 15 minutes.
Vietnamese Aioli / Bơ
We call this “bơ” (butter) for good reason. This aioli (fancy name for mayo with garlic) is rich and extremely savory. In Vietnam, butter was a luxury as dairy was not readily available, so this aioli was created to mimic the deliciousness of butter. Traditionally, it is only used when bread is involved, but I encourage everyone to use it anywhere you would use a homemade mayo.
American mayo doesn’t really appeal to the Vietnamese palate because it has vinegar in it. The acidity disrupts the balance we’re trying to achieve in dishes like bánh mì, which already come with pickles. That’s why any decent bánh mì begins with bơ instead of mayo, because bo is pure fatty and savory richness— no acid involved.
Makes 1 cup
1 large egg
1 large clove garlic
1/2 teaspoon fish sauce
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup neutral oil
Make It Đặc Biệt: Give this aioli an extra level of savoriness by using, instead of a neutral oil, the oil from the scallion oil recipe or the oil you may have used to fry shallots.
If using an immersion blender:
In a tall jar or large heavy-duty cup, add all ingredients along with 2 tablespoons of water and let them sit for 3 minutes.
Place the tip of the immersion blender at the base of the cup and blend for 30 seconds, or until all of the oil gets incorporated and the aioli is emulsified and creamy. It is important to make sure NOT to bring the immersion blender up from the base of the cup until it gets thick and creamy. Moving it up too fast will break the mayo and it will not get thick.
If using a food processor:
In the bowl of the food processor, add the egg, garlic, fish sauce, salt, and 2 tablespoons of water.
Pulse to combine, then slowly pour in the oil in a steady stream, blending as you go, until all of the oil gets incorporated and the aioli is emulsified and creamy.
For both methods: Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Fish-Sauce Caramel
This sauce really gained popularity because of a Portland, Oregon, restaurant named Pok Pok (R.I.P.). A Vietnamese cook of theirs made these very classic fish-sauce-caramel–coated chicken wings, and suddenly interest in that flavor profile exploded.
I mean, who doesn’t love something sticky and tacky and glazed and absolutely bursting with umami? The fish sauce and caramel combo may sound a bit strange but its savory quality balances the sweet and spicy and rounds everything out.
Plus it’s so versatile, and a little goes a long way. It’s an instant way to turn anything sort of boring into something extremely flavorful. Try using it as a glaze for salmon, tofu, or brussels sprouts, or dripping it over fried foods such as fish or shrimp, finished with a squeeze of lime and a sprinkling of cilantro.
Makes 1 cup
1 large clove garlic, minced
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup fish sauce
2 teaspoons crushed red pepper flakes (can be any kind . . . Italian, Mexican, as long as it’s in flake form)
In a small bowl, add the minced garlic to 1/3 cup of hot water. Let it soak for 5 minutes.
Heat a small stainless-steel saucepan over high heat and add the sugar. Let it melt and start to turn a faint amber color around the edges, around 30 seconds. Just be careful not to let it burn. You can swirl the pan a bit to help move the sugar around but don’t stir it, which will cause crystallization.
Once the sugar is melted and just starting to turn color, remove it from the heat and add the garlic-water mixture, the fish sauce, and the red pepper flakes. Stir to combine.
Place back over high heat and bring the mixture to a boil, stirring, until all of the sugar is dissolved, about 3 minutes. If any major clumps of sugar remain, you can fish them out with a spoon.
Remove from the heat and let cool to room temperature before using.
You can store the caramel in an airtight container in the fridge for a few months. Just microwave it for about 10 seconds to loosen it, or stir in 1 tablespoon of hot water at a time until you’ve achieved your desired consistency.
Cooking Tip: Here’s how you’ll know if you’ve achieved the right consistency for your caramel. It should coat the back of the spoon and hold its shape when you run your finger through it without running or dripping. If it’s too hard, just add a bit of warm water to loosen it.
Pickled Carrot and Daikon Đồ Chua
The literal translation of “đồ chua” is “sour stuff.” These are the pickles that form the sour and crunchy component of bánh mì. This recipe is about as simple and classic as you can get, since it doesn’t require any brining, fermenting, or drying. Just shred some carrot and daikon, stick it in the solution, and you’ll have delicious sour stuff to stick in your sandwiches the next day.
You will need:
Makes 1 cup
1 carrot, peeled and julienned
1/4 daikon, peeled and julienned
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 cup white vinegar
How to make it:
Place the carrots and daikon in a bowl. In a small saucepot set over high heat, add the sugar, salt, and 1/2 cup of water.
Bring to a boil, then add the vinegar. Pour this brine over the bowl of vegetables, toss to combine, and let cool at room temperature.
Refrigerate until ready to use.
From Dac Biet © 2024 by Nini Nguyen. Excerpted by permission of Alfred A. Knopf, a division of Penguin Random House LLC. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Would love the info on temp to bake the bread at/how long the bake goes!