Story of the banh mi: Vietnam’s super sandwich that took on the world
- Introduced to Vietnam by the colonial French, the baguette was later adapted for local tastes
- Banh mi is still sold in Vietnam as a cheap snack, but it is now also a hit around the world
Theign Yie Phan has to stop herself from chowing down a banh mi every day of the week. But it’s hard to resist when you’re the head chef of a restaurant that specialises in the delicious Vietnamese sandwiches.
“It is a good between-service snack. I eat one every other day. It is definitely not something you get sick of,” she says with a laugh, as she stands in front of an array of colourful ingredients ready to be stuffed into a crusty baguette at Le Petit Saigon in Wan Chai.
“As a sandwich it is well balanced in flavours and textures. There’s the crusty warm bread, the richness of the flavours of the meat, and then the tartness and sourness from the pickles,” says Phan, who is also the head chef of next-door sister restaurant, Le Garcon Saigon.
Cutting open a baguette, Phan begins layering it with thinly sliced pork belly, terrine and Vietnamese sausage, topped off with chicken liver pate and house-made mayonnaise. Next she balances that with slices of fresh cucumber, pickled vegetables, Maggi sauce, coriander, spring onion and chilli – “for punch”.
Phan is not alone in her love of the sandwich. Banh mi has gone from humble beginnings on the streets of Saigon to become a global sensation – mirroring the history of modern Vietnam. So how did a country in Southeast Asia – known for rice and noodle dishes – originate such a Western speciality as a sandwich?
