20 Minute Vietnamese-inspired Pork Banh Mi Bowl Recipe (2024)

This 20 Minute Vietnamese-inspired Pork Banh Mi Bowl recipe is loaded with seasoned and saucy ground pork, scallions, pickled veggies, rice noodles, spicy mayo and fresh herbs for a quick and easy way to enjoy the flavors of a classic Banh Mi any night of the week!

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Fast and Easy Pork Banh Mi Bowls

These easy and tasty Banh Mi Bowls have all the great things you'll find in great banh mi sandwiches, all in one easy to whip up bowl! With saucy seasoned ground pork, pickled vegetables, spicy mayo, fresh herbs, and rice noodles- these super satisfying bowls are sure to curb your craving for a classic Vietnamese Banh Mi sandwich!

Ingredients

This easy Banh Mi Bowl recipe comes together easily, with a just a bit of preparation before you cook the Banh Mi Pork. You can make the pickled veggies and sriracha aioli ahead of time, and take them out of the refrigerator just before serving.

Banh Mi Pork

• Ground pork. Using ground pork makes these bowls not only super quick, but super flavorful, too!
• Thinly sliced scallions. You'll add these and briefly cook once the pork is cooked through.
• Minced fresh garlic cloves.
• Soy sauce. You can use regular, low sodium, or coconut aminos for this recipe.
• Fish sauce. This is crucial to the flavor of a Banh Mi. A great brand available in most supermarkets is Red Boat.
• Sriracha hot sauce. The chili-based sauce is perfect for this sauce, and is also a component in the spicy mayo.
• Minced fresh ginger. I like to keep some in my freezer for recipes like this. You can even grate it frozen!
• Dark brown sugar.
• Freshly ground black pepper.
• Crushed red pepper flakes.
• A bit of fresh squeezed lime juice, for an extra tart and tangy flavor boost.
• A touch of cornstarch, to help thicken the sauce. Be sure to whisk this well into the sauce ingredients before adding to the pan to avoid lumps.
• A bit of canola oil, for cooking the pork. You can also use another neutral oil with a high smoke point, such as avocado oil or peanut oil.

Pickled Veggies

• Julienned carrots. You can prep these yourself, or pick up a bag of them at the grocery store.
• Julienned seedless English cucumber.
• Julienned radishes. You can use red radish, or daikon radish.
• Toasted sesame oil. Just a little splash, for some extra rich flavor.
• Unseasoned rice wine vinegar.
• Fresh squeezed lime juice.
• Honey.
• A bit of salt.

For the Bowls

• Cooked rice noodles, or cooked rice. You can use white rice or brown rice, whichever you prefer!
• Fresh cilantro leaves.
• Thinly sliced jalapenos or serrano peppers.
• Additional thinly sliced green onions, for garnish.
• Homemade Sriracha Aioli.

How to make this 20 Minute Banh Mi Bowl recipe

This easy bowl has all the flavors of a traditional Banh Mi, so you can enjoy all the flavors of a classic Vietnamese sandwich any night of the week! Here's how to make it:

1. Make the pickled veggies: Whisk together liquids, mix with veggies, and refrigerate until ready to eat. Can be made up to 1 day ahead.This pickling liquid does not need to be heated.
2. Whisk together spicy mayo, and refrigerate until ready to use.
3. Cook the rice or noodles or rice according to package directions, and set aside.
4. Whisk together Banh Mi sauce ingredients.Whisk the sauce ingredients well until cornstarch is fully dissolved in a bowl or liquid measure.
5. Heat oil in a large nonstick pan over medium high for 3 minutes until shimmering.
6. Add the ground pork and brown, breaking up as you go 5-6 minutes.
7. Once pork is browned, add the scallions and cook 2 minutes more.
8. Stir prepared sauce into pork mixture. Cook 2-3 minutes, until slightly thickened.
9. Assemble: Layer noodles or rice in the bottom of the bowl, then top with pork and pickled veggies. Layer on some spicy mayo, and top with additional sliced scallions, Serrano peppers, and cilantro.

Assembling and Serving

For a pretty presentation, layer the noodles or rice, pork, and veggies in quadrants in the bowl, then top with a drizzle of spicy mayo and the serrano pepper slices, cilantro leaves, and additional sliced scallions.

Storing leftovers

To store any leftovers, store each bowl component in a separate airtight container in the refrigerator and warm as needed and assemble just before serving.

The pickled veggies are best consumed no more than 2 days after preparing for best flavor. The ground pork will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.

Substitutions and Additions

This Banh Mi Bowl recipe is easily adapted to work with your tastes, or what you have on hand. Here are some easy swaps and additions to make this recipe your own!

• Not a fan of ground pork? Try ground chicken or ground turkey instead.
• No scallions? Try finely diced shallot.
• Don't want to make your own spicy mayo? Buy a bottle at your local grocery store.
• Try a mix of fresh herbs, such as cilantro and basil or Thai basil.
• Swap the rice vinegar in the pickling brine for plain white vinegar or apple cider vinegar.
• Try honey in place of the brown sugarin the sauce.
• Try grated carrot in place of the matchstick carrots for a a quick and tasty alternative.
• Use sambal oelek to make the spicy sriracha mayo instead of classic sriracha sauce.
• Rather have a sandwich? Load up the bowl ingredients on a short baguette instead!

© Jawns I Cooked. All images & content are the sole property of Jawns I Cooked. Please ask permission prior to using my photos. If you would like to share one of my recipes, please link back to this post and re-write the instructions in your own words.

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