Banh Mi in a Tortilla
Pouch chicken, pickled slaw, and mayo packets. A Vietnamese sandwich that survives a pannier.
- calories
- 620
- weight
- 7 oz
- cal / oz
- 89
- protein
- 32 g
- serves
- 4, scales
- prep
- 10 min
- cook
- 0 min
- total time
- 10 min
- water
- 120 ml cold
- cost
- $$
Calorie and protein figures are my own estimates, good enough for planning a food bag and not meant as precise nutrition data.
- Lunch
- Dinner
- No cook
- Cold soak
- Bikepacking
- Car camping
- Day hike
- Canoe / raft
- Dairy free
- Nut free
- Eat in the bag
- Pre-mix at home
- Shelf stable
- Basic
Ingredients
| Flour tortillas, burrito size | 4 | they pack flat; a baguette does not |
|---|---|---|
| Chicken in foil pouches | 400 g total | about four 3.5 oz pouches |
| Mayonnaise packets | 8 | single-serve, shelf-stable |
| Dried shredded cabbage and carrot | 1 1/2 cups | dehydrated slaw or coleslaw mix |
| Rice vinegar | 2 tbsp | in a small dropper bottle |
| Sugar | 2 tsp | |
| Salt and black pepper | to taste | |
| Dried cilantro | 1 tbsp | optional |
| Dried chili flakes | 1 tsp | optional |
Method
- Put the dried slaw, vinegar, sugar, and a pinch of salt in a quart freezer bag. Add 120 ml of cold water, seal, and squeeze it around.
- Let it sit 20 to 30 minutes. The cabbage should go from crisp shards to limp and tangy.
- Drain off whatever liquid is left. Push it out the corner of the bag or the tortillas turn to paste.
- Lay out the tortillas and squeeze two mayo packets across each one.
- Split the chicken and the slaw between them. Scatter cilantro and chili flakes if you brought them.
- Roll tight, tuck the ends, and eat over the bag.
A real banh mi runs on a crackly baguette, fresh cucumber, and pickles made days ahead. None of that rides well. Tortillas take the place of the roll because they pack flat and do not crumble, and dehydrated slaw rehydrated in vinegar and sugar does the job of the quick pickle in about half an hour of soaking time you were spending anyway.
The drain step is the one that matters. Rehydrated cabbage holds far more water than it looks like, and a wrap built on wet slaw comes apart in your hands. Mayo is doing double duty here: fat for calories, and a barrier between the tortilla and everything damp. Shelf-stable single packets survive heat that a jar would not.
Packing
Slaw, sugar, and seasonings go in one freezer bag per meal so camp assembly is a pour and a soak. Tortillas ride flat against the back panel of the pack. Vinegar goes in a leakproof dropper, not the bottle it came in.
Variations
- Shelf-stable pouch pork or a foil packet of tuna in place of the chicken.
- A squeeze of sriracha packet mixed into the mayo, which is closer to the real thing than plain mayo is.
- Freeze-dried carrot rounds rehydrate alongside the cabbage and add crunch back.
https://www.advrider.com/cheats-chicken-banh-mi