Susie says: “Bahn Mi is the classic Vietnamese baguette sandwich with BBQ meat and pickles. The baguette should be fresh and soft and able to soak up all the pickle juices. Choose a BBQ or spicy-hot style of rotisserie chicken for this.”

Makes 4 sandwiches, serves 2 to 4 people

Ingredients

Pickles:

• ½ cup/120ml unseasoned rice vinegar
• 2 tbsp sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 big handfuls carrot sticks
• 1 piece (8in/20cm) thick daikon, cut into sticks like the carrot

Spicy mayo:

• ¾ cup/175ml mayo of your choice (Kewpie is a good one for here)
• 1½ tbsp hot chilli sauce, such as Sriracha or sambal oelek
• 2 tbsp finely chopped scallions (about 1 thick scallion)
• 2 splashes of tamari, to taste

Sandwich:

• 1 large Persian cucumber or 2 small
• ½ tsp sea salt flakes
• Chilli sesame oil, for drizzling
• 1 long sourdough or classic French baguette, or 2 small baguettes
• ½ (1lb/450g) BBQ rotisserie chicken, sliced or shredded (mix of brown and white meat)
• 1 large handful cilantro sprigs

Method

First, make the pickles. Mix the vinegar, 60ml water, sugar, and salt together in a medium bowl. Mix in the vegetables. Place in the refrigerator to crisp and pickle for 15 minutes, tossing halfway through.

Meanwhile, for the spicy mayo, mix all the ingredients together. Taste and adjust the level of heat, if liked.

For the sandwich, quarter the cucumber lengthwise. Smash with the side of your chopping knife. Sprinkle with the salt and a drizzle of chili sesame oil and let stand for about 5 minutes.

To assemble, cut the baguette in half lengthwise and separate in two. Press the white part of the bread into the crust and spread both sides with spicy mayo. Randomly place pieces of cucumber on the base and top with the chicken. Drain the pickles and press onto the chicken. Place the cilantro sprigs on top. Press down the top part of the baguette to sandwich the filling, and secure with toothpicks in four equal places, or butcher’s string. This is to allow even cutting without everything rolling around. Cut the baguette in half, then in half again to make four equal sandwiches. Serve with any remaining spicy mayo and pickles.

Quick swap 

Feel free to use store-bought spicy mayo. The choice is endless.

Susie says: “I like to use both green and ripe fruit, be it green papaya with ripe mangoes, or green mangoes with ripe mangoes. You can also use carrots for the crunch instead of the green papaya or mango. For flavour, you are aiming for a mix of spicy hot (chiles) and acid (limes), salty (fish or soy sauce), and umami (jerked mushrooms or tofu). This is a brilliant way of using up chicken to make an appetizer or main salad.”

Serves 4

Ingredients

Nuoc Cham Dressing:

• 2 tbsp rice wine vinegar
• 1½ tbsp fish sauce or soy sauce
• Juice of 1 lime
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 1 bird’s eye chilli – this is super-hot, so seed or use 1 tbsps Sriracha (modern addition)

Salad:

• 3 big handfuls shredded green mango, green papaya, or mixed carrots
• 1 big handful shredded ripe mango
• 2 cups/450g shredded rotisserie chicken, breast and/or brown meat, or whichever you prefer
• 1 small handful each of mint sprigs, Thai basil sprigs, and cilantro sprigs
• 1 handful sliced jerked mushrooms or tofu
• 2 tbsp chopped roasted peanuts
• 2 tbsp crispy onions
• 1 red chile, thinly sliced (optional)
• Shrimp crackers, for serving (optional)

Method

Mix all the dressing ingredients together in a bowl with 80ml water and set aside.

Put all the shredded fruits or carrots into a large bowl, toss to mix, then add half of the dressing and toss once more.

Add the chicken to a second bowl and toss with the remaining dressing.

Let both mixtures stand for 10 minutes for the flavours to combine.

To assemble, mix the chicken and fruit together, tossing gently to combine. Add the herbs, leaving a few sprigs behind for the garnish.

Divide the salad between four serving bowls, piling the mixture high in the centre of the dish. Top with the jerked mushrooms or tofu, reserved herbs, and finish with the peanuts, crispy onions, chilli, and shrimp crackers, if liked.

Note

The dressing is quite watery (all part of its charm), which is why it’s best served in a bowl.

Susie says: “This salad uses spiralized or shredded zucchini. If you have a machine at home, great; or look out for them already prepared in the fresh salad section of grocery stores. Alternatively, you can cut the zucchini into long thin sticks with a julienne hand peeler.”

Serves 2

Ingredients

• ½ quantity Creamy Sesame Dressing (see below)
• 2 big handfuls spiralised or julienned zucchini
• 2 handfuls small salad leaves like baby spinach, arugula, tatsoi, or baby kale
• Sea salt flakes and black pepper
• Squeeze of lime juice
• 1 large, thick carrot, peeled and made into julienne strips
• 1 long green pepper, thinly sliced
• 1 Persian cucumber, thinly sliced
• 3 radishes, thinly sliced and soaked in ice-cold water, drained
• 2 (9oz/250g) rotisserie chicken breasts of your choice, thickly sliced (or use 1⁄2 chicken, mixing the dark and white meat slices)
• Furikake or toasted sesame seeds and crispy onions, for sprinkling

Method

Use 1 tbsp of the dressing to dress the zucchini noodles, then divide the vegetable between two serving bowls.

Lightly dress the salad leaves with a little dressing and a squeeze of lime juice. Season to taste and pile into the salad bowls next to the zucchini. Going around the salad bowl, top with the carrot strips, sliced peppers, cucumber, and radishes.

Top the center of the salads with sliced chicken. Drizzle with the remaining sesame dressing and sprinkle with furikake or whichever crunchy topping you like to use.

Flavour swap 

You can use the Creamy Peanut Butter and Soy Dressing (page 23) in place of the sesame, and sprinkle with chopped roasted peanuts (I like them ready salted!).

Creamy Sesame Dressing

Make ½ cup/120ml

• 1½ tbsp white miso
• 1 tbsp Japanese sesame paste
• 1 tbsp fresh ginger juice
• 2 tsp rice vinegar
• 2 tbsp tamari sauce
• Juice of ½ lime
• 1 pinch of cayenne pepper
• 5 tbsp pineapple (ideally) or apple juice
• 2 tbsp toasted sesame oil
• Sea salt flakes

Process all the ingredients together using a stick blender or whisk until smooth and well blended. Taste and adjust the seasoning with salt.