Are you serious? Where Can I Find Banh Mi Nearby?

History of the Sandwich

According to the Britannica Dictionary, a sandwich generally consists of meat and cheese placed in between two slices of bread. It was named after John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich, who was the British first lord of the Admiralty in the American Revolution (1776-1781).

The exact origin of the sandwich is unknown, but it is believed to go something like this:

John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich was an avid gambler. Supposedly, sometime in 1762, there came a day when Montagu was in the middle of a game and became hungry. He did not want to leave, so he ordered bread and sliced meat to be brought to him so he could continue gambling (This story can be found on this page).

However, according to The History of the Sandwich, this incident may not have been where the idea of the sandwich was birthed. Rather, it was probably inspired by Montagu’s visit to the Mediterranean.

While on his trip, he was served a mezze platter where cheeses and meats, as well as dips, were placed in between layers of bread.

Montagu brought this idea with him back to England where he, supposedly, continued eating this to keep from having to interrupt his gambling sessions.

The sandwich was a well-known concept by the time the Revolutionary War came around.

Cultural Influences on Vietnamese Cuisine

A big part of Vietnamese cuisine is influenced by China and France.

Unfortunately, Vietnam has a history of foreign invasions – first from China, then from France, and lastly from the United States.

Despite these very unfortunate events, the Vietnamese were able to develop their very own unique food culture by using some culinary ideas derived from the Chinese and French, in particular.

These cultural influences resulted in the creation of staple Vietnamese dishes such as Mi Hoanh Thanh, Pho, and, of course, Bahn Mi (Holliday, Graham. 8 Essential Vietnamese Dishes).

Chinese Influence

The Chinese influence came originally when the Mongolians invaded. They’re actually the ones who introduced the Vietnamese to beef as an alternative to fish (Toronto Pho).

The Chinese also introduced them to noodles and stir-fry.

Upon further research, I found that pickled vegetables are also a big part of Vietnamese cuisine.

Guess who was already pickling vegetables before they invaded Vietnam? You guessed it – China.

In fact, it is recorded that the Chinese were pickling vegetables back during the Zhou dynasty (Taste Atlas).  The Chinese pickled vegetables as a way of preserving their food as is common practice today for many international cuisines.

French Influence

The French played a big role in modern Vietnamese cuisine, too.

Although the main product influenced from France that is used in modern Vietnamese cuisine influence is the baguette (this will be explained more in detail further below). Another influence is the Bahn Flan, which is a dessert with a caramel sauce poured on top (Toronto Pho).

Further down, you will see how the mixture of French and Chinese cuisine plays a role in the development of the Banh Mi.

What is Banh Mi

Banh Mi is a classic sandwich that comes from Vietnam. However, it’s not anything like peanut butter and jelly or even a grilled cheese sandwich or your typical American bacon, lettuce, and tomato sandwich. No, they do not use sliced sandwich bread.

Instead, the Banh Mi is made with a smaller version of a baguette, which gives the sandwich that awesome, crunchy texture

I don’t know about you, but I am all about texture in my food.

History of Banh Mi

To understand the history of the banh mi, we have to understand a little bit of the history of Vietnam.

This great country was once colonized by France. It was not known as Vietnam back then. Rather, it was known as French Indochina.

It took about 350 years for the French to completely colonize Vietnam.

One of the goals was to convert the Vietnamese into Frenchmen.

They taught the Vietnamese the French language, converted them to Catholicism, and they even taught them French literature and history, and French cuisine. Thus, the use of baguette-like bread for Banh Mi.

According to this article by the Bangkok Post, Bahn Mi refers to the small loaf, called petit pain in French, that is used to make these types of sandwiches.

This French bread was first developed to feed soldiers in Indochina. It was normally the Vietnamese (and Chinese living there) who baked this bread since most of the French who lived in Indochina did not want to be bakers because this job did not pay well.

Eventually, by the year 1910, these sandwiches were sold on the streets to the Vietnamese who were on their way to work.

After some time, they began to add meat and vegetables into these bread rolls. So, although the Banh Mi was developed primarily by the French, it was adapted to better compliment the Vietnamese palate.

Today, these sandwiches are made and sold all around the world including the United States, Singapore, Australia, and the United Kingdom.

What is Inside Banh Mi

Now, what is inside this sandwich that makes it different than a typical American BLT or roast beef sandwich, or any other sandwich containing meat? Well, one thing is they use pickled vegetables!

From my experience, I’ve noticed that these vegetables are normally radishes and carrots.

Inside the Banh Mi, you will also find mayonnaise, sliced cucumber, cilantro, and of course the meatiest part of the sandwich – pork!

Oh, I almost forgot … they usually also contain jalapeños.

If you’re like me and you have a mouth that can’t tolerate hot and spicy foods like peppers, you can just take them out of your sandwich or, better yet, just ask whoever you are ordering from to omit the jalapenos when they prepare your banh mi. 

Non-Pork and Vegetarian Options

If you do not eat pork, many banh mi restaurants here in the USA offer chicken or tofu substitutes.

Interestingly, Aimee Levitt of Eater Chicago wrote a story about two men who started their own business called Stuffed Custom Catering located in Chicago, Illinois who began their business, get this, in the MIDDLE of the Covid-19 pandemic!

You will not believe what they place in their banh mi Vietnamese sandwich.

SPAM!

Yes, they use spam. I’m sure that many of you out there who like to try new, interesting, weird, or exotic foods are very curious about trying this. I know I am! 

The article where this story is located is called A Catering Company Serves Spam Banh Mi Bao and Cevapaci From Their Front Yard.

By the way, I recommend you read this article – it’s a feel-good success story that was created amid the horrible, chaotic beginnings of the Covid pandemic.

Where Can You Get Banh Mi?

Your best bet to find banh mi will be a Vietnamese restaurant.

Here’s a hint: it may be safe to assume that most, if not all, restaurants with the word “pho” are Vietnamese. Pho is a vermicelli noodle, broth-based soup topped with some kind of meat (normally beef or pork), herbs (like basil), and bean sprouts.

You may also be able to find Banh Mi served from family-owned food truck businesses or franchised banh mi restaurants.

One example of this is Lee’s Sandwiches, which can be found located all throughout where I’m from in Southern California. You can search their various other locations on their website to see if there is one near you.

Make It At Home

Now, you don’t have to go to a restaurant to try this delicious sandwich! A quick search on Google will give you many results. I have found that the main ingredients include:

• Baguette
• Pork tenderloin
• Rice wine viegar
• Fish sauce
• Vegetable oil
• Carrots
• Daikon radish
• Mayonnaise
• Cilantro springs
• Cucumbers
• Sugar
• Sriracha chili sauce
• Jalapenos

You may be able to get some of the sauces in the international food section of your local grocery store, an international market (normally these can be found in the downtown area of a major metropolitan city), or on Amazon.

Here’s an EXCELLENT recipe video for you to show you how you can make banh mi sandwiches from home.

Andrea Nguyen, the cook in the video, believes it is Maggie Seasoning Sauce that makes this Vietnamese sandwich SO delicious!

How to Make Banh Mi Vietnamese Sandwich from Scratch

Here’s a GREAT video for you if you’d love to learn how to make the banh mi sandwich from scratch:

Conclusion

I hope you enjoyed learning a little bit more about Bahn mi and its origins. As mentioned earlier, this is my favorite kind of sandwich! Have you had Bahn mi? What’s your favorite kind of sandwich?