Bánh Mì: How to Make the Vietnamese Sandwich at Home

How a colonial bread became Vietnamese street food

In 1954 France withdrew from Vietnam, ending a colonial rule that had lasted more than 70 years, since the late 19th century. That year, people who had moved to Saigon (now Ho Chi Minh City) picked up the baguettes the French had brought and must have thought: "We can make this better."

Where the French had simply put ham and butter in a baguette, they added pork scented with lemongrass. They spread on a rich liver pâté. They added the sour snap of homemade pickled daikon and carrot. They piled on plenty of cilantro.

Before long it had become something entirely new, beyond the food culture of the colonizers.

This is the birth of the bánh mì. It entered the Oxford English Dictionary in 2011, and it is Vietnamese soul food. One loaf of bread holds a history and a balance of the five tastes.

This article walks you through making a true bánh mì step by step with ingredients you can find in an ordinary supermarket and an Asian grocery.

If you like other Southeast Asian dishes, try gapao rice (in Japanese) or Indonesia's national dish, nasi goreng (in Japanese). If you enjoy Middle Eastern food, kebab and falafel (in Japanese) are also popular.

Types of bánh mì

Bánh mì varies with the region and the filling. Here are five representative types.

The one we make here is the classic bánh mì thịt (with lemongrass pork).

Ingredients (makes 4 sandwiches)

The finished sandwich

Cooking tips

The reason bánh mì is loved around the world is its balance: all five tastes in a single bite.

Variations

Breakfast bánh mì (bánh mì ốp la)

Fry an egg in a skillet and use it in place of the lemongrass pork. Keep the mayonnaise and pâté, and add tomato slices instead of đồ chua if you like. It makes a rich breakfast in 5 minutes.

Vegetarian version (bánh mì chay)

Simply slice firm tofu 1 cm thick and pan-fry it in place of the pork. Season it with lemongrass, garlic, sugar and light soy sauce. For a texture closer to meat, freeze the tofu once and thaw it before using, which adds chew. The shortcut pâté with canned mackerel and butter includes fish and dairy, so for a fully plant-based sandwich leave the pâté out or replace it with a plant-based spread.

Chicken version (bánh mì gà)

Just cook chicken breast in the lemongrass marinade. It has less fat than pork and tastes lighter, a good choice if you're health-minded. Chicken thighs make it juicier.

Milder version (kids' bánh mì)

Leave out the green chile and use a little less vinegar in the đồ chua, and children can eat it easily. If your kids don't like cilantro, swap in shiso for a different, fresh aroma.

A freewheeling version with everyday ingredients

• Bread → sandwich bread, for a "bánh mì-style open-faced sandwich"
• Pork → pork sliced for ginger pork (switch the seasoning to fish sauce + lemon + sugar)
• Pâté → mentaiko mayonnaise (a surprisingly good fit as an umami base)
• Đồ chua → store-bought sweet-and-sour pickled daikon (a quick pickling mix saves time)

If you'd like to try more Asian meat dishes, give kebab from Turkey a go. Like lemongrass pork, it relies on marinating in spices and then grilling, which makes it an easy next step after bánh mì.

Background: how a colonial bread became a street-food favorite

The bread the French brought (1880s)

When France colonized Vietnam in the late 19th century, the French brought the baguette and bakery culture with them. The problem was the climate. Vietnam's hot, humid conditions are not suited to growing wheat, and wheat flour was an expensive import. After trial and error, local bakers are said to have started mixing rice flour into the wheat flour.

That adaptation is said to have produced an accidental masterpiece. Bread with rice flour is said to have a thinner, crisper crust and a lighter inside. Lighter than a French baguette and easy to crush, it holds the weight of the fillings while still being easy to eat in a bite. That was the prototype of the bread used for bánh mì.

The turning point in 1954 (the Geneva Accords)

In 1954 the French were decisively defeated at Dien Bien Phu, and the Geneva Accords divided Vietnam into north and south. About one million people from the north moved south that year, and many settled in Saigon (now Ho Chi Minh City), which directly set the stage for the birth of the bánh mì.

One of the migrants, Lê Minh Ngọc, and his wife Nguyễn Thị Tịnh opened a small bakery called "Hòa Mã" in District 3. In 1958 Hòa Mã is said to have been the first to sell the "bánh mì thịt" (bánh mì with meat), and it is remembered as the direct ancestor of the modern bánh mì.

Starting from the bread, ham and pâté that the French brought, they swapped the butter for mayonnaise and added herbs and pickled vegetables. They turned the elements of expensive French cooking into food for ordinary people. There are similar examples around the world of cooking that "transcends the food culture of the conqueror," and borscht (in Japanese), the Ukrainian beet soup, is a famous dish that developed its own character amid the historical conflict between Russia and Ukraine.

How bánh mì spread around the world

After the Vietnam War ended in 1975, many Vietnamese left the country as refugees and immigrants. Bánh mì culture spread across the United States, Australia, Canada and France, diversifying further as it took in local ingredients.

In 2011 the Oxford English Dictionary added "bánh mì," and it now appears in food media around the world as one of Vietnam's signature dishes.

Why bánh mì never gets boring: tastes and textures

The appeal of bánh mì lies in how it is built so that all five tastes come together in a single bite.

The textures are calculated too. There is the pleasure of the thin crust cracking, the contrast between the smooth, creamy pâté and the crunchy đồ chua, and the interplay of juicy pork and fresh vegetables. Together they make a complex harmony in your mouth.

Đồ chua is a sweet-and-sour pickle made with rice vinegar and sugar, and its sourness cuts the fat of the meat and pâté and lightens the next bite.

In Vietnam today there are street stalls (bánh mì stands) everywhere, selling them at affordable prices. Even after becoming famous worldwide, it has kept its place as everyday food for ordinary people, which may be the most defining thing about the bánh mì.

Frequently asked questions

You can, but the balance of aromas changes. If you don't like cilantro, mitsuba or shiso (perilla) comes relatively close in role. Mitsuba is cooling and shiso adds a Japanese note, but the overall balance holds. Many people grow to like a little cilantro with time, so do try a small amount.

Q: Can I use store-bought pickles instead of đồ chua?

You can, but I strongly recommend making your own. Store-bought sweet-and-sour pickled daikon can be quite salty, which easily throws off the balance. The ingredients for đồ chua are only daikon, carrot, vinegar and sugar, it takes 15 minutes to prepare, and it keeps about a week in the refrigerator. Once you've made it, it is handy for other dishes too, such as a side for dumplings or a salad topping.

Q: I can't get pâté. Can I skip it?

Skipping it loses the umami core and the sandwich tastes a little flat. If you dislike pork liver or can't find it, try the "easy pâté" of canned mackerel mashed with a fork and mixed with butter and black pepper. It adds a surprising depth of flavor. Store-bought liver spread or pâté de campagne also works. For another paste-style umami ingredient, a "fusion bánh mì" that uses hummus (in Japanese) (chickpea paste) in place of the pâté is worth trying.

Q: What bread is used for bánh mì in Vietnam? Is it different from a regular baguette?

Bánh mì bread is made by mixing rice flour into wheat flour (reference: Wikipedia - Bánh mì) and is lighter and crisper than a French baguette. A regular baguette is a bit heavier, but it substitutes well enough. If you want to recreate the authentic lightness, it's fun to try baking your own bread, replacing 10–15% of the flour with rice flour.

Q: Can I store it? How do I prepare ahead?

Once assembled, the bread turns damp within a few hours even in the refrigerator. The right way to prepare ahead is to store each component separately. The đồ chua keeps about a week in the refrigerator, the lemongrass pork 3 days refrigerated or 1 month frozen, and the pâté 3 days refrigerated. Warm the baguette just before eating and assemble, and you can enjoy an authentic bánh mì any time. Shakshuka (in Japanese) (eggs in tomato sauce) is another handy make-ahead dish, and you can also turn it into a breakfast set by refrigerating it with the đồ chua and just adding herbs.

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