Mini Bánh Mì Bites

These Mini Bánh Mì Bites take all your favorite flavors of a classic Bánh Mì, and stuff them into a tiny chicken meatball, perfect for snacking. Serve them with a spicy sriracha aioli, a slice of cucumber and radish, secure with a toothpick, and serve at your next party!

When something is a good, don’t let go!

Sometimes when I grab ahold of an idea, I have a hard time letting it go.

Case in point. The hundred and one ways I’ve turned a classic banh mi sandwich into something else. A pizza. Lettuce wraps. Tacos. Burgers. And now –for lack of a better word – meatballs.

Ok, so it’s only five.

Regardless of how many times I’ve churned out the same recipe, different ways, the point is, I clearly love a variation on a banh mi. I think it’s something about the sweet, spicy, and sour combination that initially pulls me in, and then the versatility of the ingredients that keep the endless ideas flowing.

For these guys, I of course, wanted to encompass all the classic flavors of the original, but transform it into the perfect bite-sized portion for entertaining.

How to make Mini Bánh Mì Bites

Ground turkey breast is the protein of choice over pork primarily for nutritional reasons, and since it tends to dry out, I treat it the same way I do my chicken burgers, with lots of added ingredients to ensure moisture. Here, moisture comes in the form of grated onion, garlic, soy sauce, sesame oil, sriracha and fish sauce, while an egg and plenty of panko breadcrumbs help to glue the mixture together. The ground turkey is formed into 1-inch meatballs, lined up on a baking sheet and then popped into the oven until they’re golden brown and cooked through. (Warning, the mixture will seem super wet, that’s ok, they’ll firm up while cooking.)

While the meatballs cook,  sliced cucumbers and radishes are faux-pickled in a little bit of rice vinegar. Also, a quick spicy mayo is throw together with low-fat mayo, sirracha, sesame oil and a touch of rice vinegar.

All the components are nestled on cocktail skewers, sprinkled with a little bit of cilantro and served with the spicy mayo for dipping.

Banh mi turned bite-sized.

Tips/Substitutions for Mini Bánh Mì Bites

• Feel free to sub out ground chicken for the turkey
• Wet hands before forming meatballs. This will prevent the meat from sticking to your fingers.
• Serve as a meal instead! Spread mayo on toasted hoagies. Layer cucumber and radish. Lay three to four meatballs on top. Sprinkle with cilantro.
• Freeze meatballs on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake as directed when ready to use, but cook a few minutes longer.

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Mini Bánh Mì Bites

Prep: 20 minutes minutes

Cook: 20 minutes minutes

0 minutes minutes

Total: 40 minutes minutes

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These Mini Bánh Mì Bites take all your favorite flavors of a classic Bánh Mì, and stuff them into a tiny chicken meatball, perfect for snacking. Serve them with a spicy sriracha aioli, a slice of cucumber and radish, secure with a toothpick, and serve at your next party!

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24 bites

Ingredients

• ▢ 1 lb ground turkey or chicken breast
• ▢ 1/2 medium onion, grated + 1/4 cup finely diced onion
• ▢ 1/2 cup sliced green onion
• ▢ 1/2 cup finely diced carrot (I use shredded carrots and then chop)
• ▢ 1/8 cup chopped cilantro, plus more for garnish
• ▢ 2 large garlic cloves, grated
• ▢ 2 tbsp soy sauce
• ▢ 2 1/2 tsp sesame oil, divided
• ▢ 1 1/2 tsp fish sauce
• ▢ 1 tbsp + 1/4 tsp sriracha, divided
• ▢ 1 1/2 tsp packed brown sugar
• ▢ 1 large egg
• ▢ 3/4 cup panko breadcrumbs
• ▢ 2 tbsp + 1 tsp rice vinegar, divided
• ▢ 5 radishes, sliced very thin
• ▢ 1/2 small cucumber, sliced very thin
• ▢ 1/2 cup low-fat mayo

Equipment

• Mixing bowls
• sheet pan

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. 
• Using your hands, combine ground turkey, grated onion, diced onion, green onion, carrot, cilantro, garlic, soy sauce, 2 teaspoons sesame oil, fish sauce, 2 teaspoons sirracha, brown sugar, egg and panko in a medium bowl. Do not over mix.
  
• Use a small cookie scoop to form meat into 1-inch meatballs and line up on a cookie sheet. Bake for 20 minutes or until meatballs are golden brown and cooked through.
  
• While the meatballs cook, toss sliced cucumbers and radishes with 2 tablespoons rice vinegar in a small bowl. (The radishes may tint the cucumbers, if you don't want them to bleed at all, marinate them in separate bowls.)
  
• Also while the meatballs cook, mix remaining vinegar, sirracha, sesame oil and mayo in a small bowl. Set aside. 
  
• Skewer one slice of cucumber and one slice of radish onto cocktail skewer, followed by one meatball. Serve with mayo.
  

Nutrition Information

Serving: 1bite, Calories: 50kcal (3%), Carbohydrates: 2g (1%), Protein: 5g (10%), Fat: 2g (3%), Saturated Fat: 1g (6%), Cholesterol: 20mg (7%), Sodium: 177mg (8%), Potassium: 79mg (2%), Fiber: 1g (4%), Sugar: 1g (1%), Vitamin A: 469IU (9%), Vitamin C: 1mg (1%), Calcium: 7mg (1%), Iron: 1mg (6%)

© Author: Nicole