Luang Prabang Chicken-Chili Sandwiches | Everyday Dorie

Dorie takes us to Luang Prabang, Laos, where street vendors in the night market make chicken-chili sandwiches with chutzpah. Basically, these are bamboo-skewered grilled chicken stuffed in between the top and bottom of a half-baguette. Inside the sandwiches are layers of tomatoes, cucumbers and lettuce. Meanwhile both sides of the baguette are slathered with mayonnaise and sweet chili sauce.

I’ve never tasted a Luang Prabang chicken-chili sandwich before nor have I seen one made anywhere. Most appealing to me, however, is the sight and taste of the skewered grilled chicken, the star of the show. Instantly, the Japanese yakitori comes to mind. Except that typically you find yakitori (literally means “grilled chicken”) sitting along the counters in tiny restaurants throughout Japan, not on the streets in Laos. Who wouldn’t want to have skewered grilled chicken in a sandwich?

Dorie’s recipe uses oven-roasted chicken breasts. First rub the chicken pieces with olive oil, lemon juice and season with salt and pepper. Among them, it’s the salt that’s most crucial, as it draws out the meat’s water. That water then dissolves the salt on the surface of the meat, and through diffusion, the two re-enter the meat, seasoning the chicken thoroughly. At the same time, it ensures the meat retains its natural moisture. Let the marinade sit for a few hours. Then roast the chicken breasts in a 350°F oven for about 20 minutes.

Roasting the chicken is the only cooking required. The rest of the process is merely mise en place — getting all the ingredients ready for assembly. Half- baguettes, mayonnaise, Thai sweet chili sauce, sliced tomato rounds, cucumber in long thin slices and shredded crispy lettuce. I manage to get most of them; but I can only get a full-sized baguette from the local bakery. And it’s not the kind with a soft crust.

There are some concerns: a regular baguette doesn’t make for a good sandwich with a variety of goodies tightly tucked within. This is why. A full-height sandwich makes it difficult to take hold of everything (bread, chicken, veggies and condiments) in a single bite with your fingers, especially when the crust is hard. First, I’d have been better off using a toasted brioche, or a hamburger bun, for bread. Second, oven-roasted chicken is no match, in my book, to grilled chicken with caramelised grill marks and all. I have to admit the taste and smell of skewered yakitori are too enticing for me to ignore. I know my bias.

This is a made-to-order sandwich, make better selections with bread and chicken next time! Or make a panzanella with chicken like what I did with the rest of the leftover ingredients.