Crossing the Line

Here is where I crossed the line

Yes, I've done it again. I've crossed a cooking tradition line.

I made Banh Mi sandwiches on July 4th because, why not? All good, but I have a surplus of pickled vegetables, carrots, radishes, cabbage, which traditionally top off the classic Vietnamese sandwich. What to do with the pickled veg? Mor Banh Mi sandwiches? Hmmmm....

My traditional chicken salad

Fast forward to today and prepping my chicken salad for lunch. Light bulb moment! I tossed the chicken salad with the Banh Mi pickled veg and a bit of chopped basil (just sitting in my fridge). The result was awesome! I will do this again, but on purpose. How do you do this at home? Don't worry about quantities, just eyeball it, mix, taste and adjust.

My chicken salad is fine all on its own with nothing to gild it except grapes and walnuts. Love it! But, these pickled vegetables added quite a kick to the traditional dish. You may want to try it yourself sometime. Recipe for Banh Mi pickled vegetables coming soon in my next post.