This vibrant banh mi bowl recipe is packed with flavorful meat, crisp pickled vegetables, and a zesty kick from spicy sriracha mayo. This recipe is one of my favorite healthy ground venison recipes. If you're looking to try a uniquely satisfying meal with your ground venison, this recipe is the perfect choice!
Recipe Highlights
Savory Flavors: This vibrant recipe combines the bold flavors of traditional Vietnamese banh mi sandwiches with the lean, rich taste of ground venison. Each bite is a perfect harmony of seasoned meat, crisp pickled vegetables, and spicy sriracha mayo. For a more adventurous recipe, try my venison poke bowls.
Nutritious: Packed with lean protein from the ground venison and fresh, crunchy vegetables, this dish is a nutritious meal option that doesn't compromise on flavor.
Switch Up Your Menu: Sure the classics are great - venison sloppy joes, ground venison tacos, venison burgers, spaghetti sauce (or venison bolognese), venison meatballs, etc. But venison pairs great with a variety of cuisines and you can turn a pound of ground meat into something extraordinary with this recipe. Who knows, it might just become a regular menu item for you!
Ingredients
- Ground Venison: You can use any ground meat of your choosing for this recipe - whether it's wild game meat, ground pork, ground beef, etc. Check out this list of recipes for more ground venison recipes!
- Quick Pickled Veggies: Daikon radish, carrots, and cucumbers are traditional banh mi vegetables. I like to use Persian cucumbers (mini cucumbers) but English cucumbers work well too. If you can't find daikon radish, any variety of radish will work. I love using quick pickled veggies in my antelope bibimbap recipe too
- Toppings: You can top your bowl however you please! See below for recipe variations.
See recipe card for quantities.
Equipment
- Mandolin Slicer: A mandolin slicer is the perfect tool for making thin vegetable ribbons. If you don't have access to one, a vegetable peeler will work as well!
How to Make Quick Pickled Vegetables
These pickled vegetables are perfectly crisp and have a light tangy flavor that doesn't overpower the other ingredients. Read below for how to make them!
- Step 1: Prepare the vegetables at least 2 hours in advance. To a small saucepan, add water, rice vinegar, sugar, and salt. Bring to a boil and simmer until the sugar and salt have dissolved. Let the mixture fully cool before pouring it over the vegetables.
- Step 2: Use a mandoline slicer to thinly slice the vegetables into ribbons. Alternatively, you can achieve a similar result with a vegetable peeler.
- Step 3: Use the lowest setting possible to get super thin slices.
- Step 4: Gently pack the vegetables into individual jars or containers.
- Step 5: Pour the cooled pickling liquid over the vegetables in each jar or container.
- Step 6: Cover jars with lids and refrigerate until ready to use.
Pro Tip
Allowing the pickling brine to cool completely ensures the vegetables stay perfectly crisp and keep their vibrant color.
How to Cook Venison for Banh Mi Bowls
The seasoned ground venison is super easy to make but is packed with flavor! It's the perfect protein for this healthy ground venison recipe.
- Step 1: In a small bowl, combine soy sauce, brown sugar, rice vinegar, sesame oil, and fish sauce. Set aside until ready to use.
- Step 2: Heat a large cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. Add olive oil and swirl to coat the pan.
- Step 3: Add ground venison, ginger, and garlic to the pan.
- Step 4: Break the meat up with a spatula and spread it into an even layer in the pan. Cook for 3-4 minutes, or until the meat is browned on one side. Flip the meat and cook for an additional 2-3 minutes.
- Step 5: Add the soy sauce mixture and chopped green onions to the pan.
- Step 6: Stir to combine and cook for 5-6 minutes, stirring occasionally. Most of the sauce should be absorbed into the meat and the meat should be caramelized from the sauce.
Pro Tip
The meat in this recipe is very similar to the meat in my ground venison bulgogi tacos recipe. You can make a big batch and use the meat for 2 recipes!
Variations
These bowls are totally customizable to your personal preferences. No matter how you choose to serve them, I hope this becomes one of your new favorite ground venison recipes!
Rice: I like to use sticky rice for this recipe but you can use jasmine rice, brown rice, or your favorite rice. You can also use alternative grains like cous cous, farro, bulgur wheat, etc.
Toppings: Crisp pickled vegetables are part of what gives banh mi sandwiches their signature flavor. But, you can dress up these bowls however you'd like! You can opt for raw veggies like bell peppers, cabbage, greens, avocado, etc. Add some crunch with things like sesame seeds or roasted peanuts. For an extra punch, use quick pickled jalapeños instead of fresh.
Sauces: Sriracha mayo adds a spicy kick without being overpowering. You can opt for other sauces like teriyaki sauce, sweet chili sauce, sesame dressing, etc. Sriracha is also my favorite topping for venison bulgogi!
Serving Suggestions
Spread cooked sticky rice in the bottom of bowls. Place venison on one side of the bowl. Arrange pickled vegetables and fresh cilantro leaves, jalapeno, and green onions on the other side of the bowl. Drizzle with sriracha mayo. Add a squeeze of fresh lime juice. Serve and enjoy!
FAQ
The key ingredients to banh mi sandwiches are savory seasoned meat, tangy pickled vegetables, fresh herbs, crusty baguette, and a spicy sauce.
Ground venison is an excellent choice for many meals. It can be used for classic meals like venison burgers, venison sloppy joes, and venison meatballs. Or you can use it in unique dishes like banh mi bowls or wild mushroom hand pies.
Venison is a lean meat with a very low fat content and people are often not accustomed to the flavor of deer meat. Added fat like pork fat or beef fat can help improve the flavor. Using savory ingredients like soy sauce or Worcestershire sauce can help enhance the earthy flavor.
Did you try this recipe?
Let us know what you thought by leaving a comment below and sharing it on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest!
Thank you!
Annie
📖 Recipe
Ground Venison Banh Mi Bowls
Equipment
Ingredients
Meat:
- 1 lb ground venison
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon fresh ginger, grated
- 1 tablespoon fresh garlic, minced
- ⅓ cup green onions, finely chopped
- ¼ cup soy sauce
- 2 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon fish sauce
Pickled Vegetables:
- 1 cup daikon radish, cut into thin ribbons
- 1 cup carrots, cut into thin ribbons
- 1 cup mini cucumbers, cut into thin ribbons
- 1 ¼ cup water
- ¾ cup rice vinegar
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
Sriracha Mayo:
- 3 tablespoon mayonnaise
- 1 tablespoon sriracha hot sauce
Other Ingredients:
- 3 cups cooked sticky rice
- cilantro leaves, for serving
- jalapeno, thinly sliced, for serving
- green onions, sliced at an angle, for serving
- lime wedges, for serving
Instructions
Pickled Vegetables:
- Prepare the vegetables at least 2 hours in advance.
- To a small saucepan, add water, rice vinegar, sugar, and salt. Bring to a boil and simmer until the sugar and salt have dissolved. Let the mixture fully cool before pouring it over the vegetables. This helps keep the vegetables crisp.
- Use a mandoline slicer to thinly slice the vegetables into ribbons. Use the lowest setting possible to get super thin slices. Alternatively, you can achieve a similar result with a vegetable peeler.
- Gently pack the vegetables into individual jars or containers.
- Pour the cooled pickling brine over the vegetables in each jar or container. Cover jars with lids and refrigerate until ready to use.
Sriracha Mayo:
- Combine mayonnaise and sriracha in a small bowl. Transfer to a zippered bag for drizzling. Cut a small corner off the bag when ready to serve.
Meat:
- In a small bowl, combine soy sauce, brown sugar, rice vinegar, sesame oil, and fish sauce. Set aside until ready to use.
- Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add olive oil and swirl to coat the pan.
- Add ground venison, ginger, and garlic to the pan. Break the meat up with a spatula and spread it into an even layer in the pan. Cook for 3-4 minutes, or until the meat is browned on one side.
- Flip the meat and cook for an additional 2-3 minutes.
- Add the soy sauce mixture and chopped green onions to the pan. Stir to combine and cook for 5-6 minutes, stirring occasionally. Most of the sauce should be absorbed into the meat and the meat should be caramelized from the sauce.
Assembly:
- Spread cooked sticky rice in the bottom of bowls. Place venison on one side of the bowl. Arrange pickled vegetables and other toppings on the other side of the bowl. Drizzle with sriracha mayo. Serve and enjoy!
Notes
- You can use any ground meat of your choosing for this recipe - whether it's wild game meat, ground pork, ground beef, etc.
- Daikon radish, carrots, and cucumbers are traditional banh mi vegetables. I like to use Persian cucumbers (mini cucumbers) but English cucumbers work well too. If you can't find daikon radish, any variety of radish will work.
- You can top your bowl however you please! See recipe post for recipe variations.
- A mandoline slicer is the perfect tool for making thin vegetable ribbons. If you don't have access to one, a vegetable peeler will work as well!
- Allowing the pickling brine to cool completely ensures the vegetables stay perfectly crisp and keep their vibrant color.
- The meat in this recipe is very similar to the meat in my ground venison bulgogi tacos recipe. You can make a big batch and use the meat for 2 recipes!
Alison says
This was sooo good! I made with ground beef. The pickled veggies made a lot so I’m thinking they could be good on shrimp tacos. Delicious recipe!
Annie Weisz says
Thanks so much, Alison! I agree, I love pickled veggies on tacos! 😋
Adrienne says
I love meals in a bowl because they are so easy to customize to what you have and what everyone likes and this one is a goodie! I love all the crunchy veggies, the flavorful meat and the sauce! So delicious!
Annie Weisz says
Thanks so much, Adrienne! I agree, bowls are perfect for families with different tastes!
Madison Palmer says
Such an easy way to change up the way we use our ground meat! Used ground elk for ours and made enough pickled veggies to be able to cook this three times in two weeks (which tells you how good the recipe was). Even my 9 month old was a fan
Annie Weisz says
So glad you loved it, Madison! Thanks for the kind review!
Nichole Lange says
Absolutely delicious! I will be adding this recipe to my repeat list. The pickled vegetables are a nice touch that I’ve never done before. Gives a nice crunch to the dish.
Annie Weisz says
Thanks so much for making it and sharing, Nichole! I love the brightness from the pickled veggies too!
Katie says
We used ground pork (because we didn’t have any venison). This was absolutely delicious!!
Annie Weisz says
I bet the pork was delicious! Thanks so much for sharing!
Emiley says
Very good! We love the pickled vegetables!
Annie Weisz says
Thanks so much, Emiley! The pickled vegetables are my favorite in this recipe too.
Austin Moon says
These are very tasty and easy to make. Excellent recipe for a fast and healthy weeknight meal.
Annie Weisz says
Thanks so much, Austin! So glad you enjoyed the recipe!
Catherine Ramsey says
WOW these were amazing! Tastes just like a traditional bahn mi, we loved them! The vegetables were such a great crunch. My husband doesn’t like pickled foods typically but these are just barely pickled, so refreshing and light! At this point in the winter we’re desperate for new ways to use ground venison and this is going to be a regular going forward! Can’t thank you enough for sharing, we will be following peak to plate from here on out!
Annie Weisz says
Thanks so much for the kind review, Catherine! I'm so happy my recipe was a bright spot this winter. 😊