Bánh Mì Salad

By Christian Reynoso

Updated July 17, 2025

Bánh Mì Salad
David Malosh for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.
Total Time
20 minutes
Prep Time
15 minutes
Cook Time
5 minutes
Rating
5(442)
Comments
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Beloved by many for good reason, the flavors and textures of a bánh mì are the inspiration for this recipe. Crisp quick-marinated vegetables, tender herbs and lettuces, spicy jalapeño, creamy avocado and sweet ham are dressed in a version of tangy nước chấm and then topped with buttery crackers instead of the bread that gives the Vietnamese sandwich its name. While the ingredient list might seem long, there’s no cooking involved and this salad comes together in about 20 minutes. Any type of ham will work, but if you buy a roast, you’ll be able to carve the ham as thin as you'd like. For a different take, cooked bacon, rotisserie chicken or tofu make excellent options, too.

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Ingredients

Yield:2 servings
  • 3tablespoons fresh lime juice (from about 2 limes)
  • 2tablespoons rice vinegar
  • 2tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1tablespoon sugar
  • 2teaspoons fish sauce
  • 1large carrot (about 6 ounces), rinsed and thinly sliced
  • 1small daikon (about 6 ounces), rinsed and thinly sliced
  • ½jalapeño, thinly sliced
  • 1large shallot, thinly sliced
  • Salt and pepper
  • 1avocado, halved
  • 6 to 8ounces ham, sliced or torn in small pieces or rotisserie chicken meat, picked off the bone
  • 1Persian cucumber, thinly sliced
  • 2big handfuls mixed baby lettuce
  • 1handful cilantro leaves with some stem
  • Crushed buttery crackers (such as Cabaret or Ritz), for topping
  • Sriracha (optional), for serving
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (2 servings)

442 calories; 30 grams fat; 4 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 20 grams monounsaturated fat; 4 grams polyunsaturated fat; 37 grams carbohydrates; 12 grams dietary fiber; 17 grams sugars; 13 grams protein; 1178 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    In a medium bowl, whisk together the lime juice, vinegar, olive oil, sugar and fish sauce. Add the carrot, daikon, jalapeño and shallot. Season with salt and toss very well to combine.

  2. Step 2

    Scoop the avocado from its skin in small pieces and divide between two serving plates.

  3. Step 3

    To the bowl with the carrot mixture, add the ham, cucumber, lettuce and cilantro; season to taste with salt and pepper and toss to combine.

  4. Step 4

    Transfer the salad to the plates on top of the avocado. Garnish with the crackers and a squeeze of Sriracha on the side, if you’d like.

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Ratings

5 out of 5
442 user ratings
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Comments

Marquez Busta

This is great. A couple suggestions: - add a couple TBSP of water and at least another full TBSP of sugar to the pickling liquid/dressing. This will make it more like dipping sauce. Just keep adding a little of both and tasting til it tastes right to you. - let the carrots/radish/peppers sit in the sauce for a couple hours if you have the time. - keep all the salad ingredients separate and add them individually to bowls. It can scale up nicely this way, and you can keep leftovers without the lettuce, cucumbers, and herbs turning to mush. - the addition of mint to the cilantro takes it up a notch. - serve over rice or rice noodles, maybe with an over-easy or poached egg on top. - swap in chopped peanuts for the Ritz crackers. -really any kind of meat will be great. You could also try pan-fried Halloumi, paneer, panela, or casera cheese, or any other kind that takes to cooking without melting.

Tom

A short lived restaurant in Los Angeles about 10 or more years ago had a (clearly) very memorable version of exactly this dish. I remember it rather well and three things stood out: cubes (not slices) of Vietnamese ham, with cubes as opposed to slices you get more of the bounciness of the ham. Also, big crispy baguette croutons which sopped up the dressing. And it was served very cold.

Mark

Really cool flavors for a salad! Another Reynoso banger. I'm currently eating it out of the serving bowl. (Including chopping and slicing, this took me 32 minutes)

Anne

We really enjoyed this but felt we needed to zhuzh it up with: - Chopped peanuts - Sesame oil - Soy Sauce - Chili Crisp We could do without the Ritz crackers as the peanuts added more texture.

Katy

Delicious. I doubled and the dressing was maybe too much for some. I used fresno peppers instead of jalapeno, and added shredded rotisserie chicken from the store. Served with toasted sour dough to mop up the dressing.

angie

Great base recipe, as many have mentioned. It’s very versatile. I doubled the dressing. Didn’t have rice vinegar so I used white wine vinegar. Slightly less sugar, slightly less fish sauce to taste. No daikon but used carrot, shallot, Persian cucumbers, avocado, jalapeño, and micro greens. I used shredded rotisserie chicken for the protein, and swapped the crackers for roasted peanuts. Delicious! Will definitely use this concept again. It would be quite tasty with rice noodles as well.

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