For several years while I lived in Jakarta, my preferred grocery store was next to a small resto that advertised “Hot Vietnamese Sandwiches.”
Being a terrible person, I sniggered and made rude remarks about prostitution. It was years before I actually, on a whim, ventured inside and ordered my very own hot Vietnamese sandwich.
Well. After the first bite, I was torn between regret that I had allowed this extraordinary gustatory pleasure to go unexperienced for so long, and joy that I had finally, before it was too late, come to know just how ethereal a Vietnamese sandwich - banh mi - is. After that, I ate banh mi whenever I could in SE Asia. Not all were as delightful as that first one, and I’ve never had the pleasure of eating banh mi in Vietnam itself, but I can authoritatively say that a decent banh mi is a fine thing indeed.
It starts with wonderful French bread that has a crispy crust that gives way with a satisfying crunch as soon as you bite into it, and a chewy yet airy interior. The sandwich filling can be many things - pork, beef, chicken, even tofu - but generally includes some pickled vegetable that adds just the right sweet-vinegary enhancement.
A good banh mi is a thing of beauty and I don’t know if I’ll ever have one again now that I’ve left SE Asia. (Maybe. There is a place in nearly Hilo, HI that advertises them, but they are so infrequently open that I have yet to give them a try. I can only hope that their limited hours are related to strict quality control.)
Yep, love those things. My favorites are just what is usually called a “special” in most places I’ve visited (got the meat pate, ham, headcheese, etc, on it) and the sardine bahn mi. There’s even a barbecue place a bit east of here in Indiana that occasionally has bahn mis. I didn’t get a chance to try it, but yesterday and today they had a smoked brisket bahn mi that my cousin said was out-of-this-world good. Versatile sandwich, and I’ve liked pretty much all incarnations I’ve had of it, but I’m partial to the cold cut one with the pickled carrot and daikon, cilantro, mayo, jalapeno, and it’s gotta have a healthy splash of Maggi on it.
Yep. I swear around 10-15 years ago, they were like $2 here and now they’re more like “normal” sandwich prices like $5 on average. I’m not really complaining, but, man, they used to be a steal! I couldn’t believe the quality of sandwich I could get for like $2. Why would I ever go to Jimmy John’s or Mr. Sub when I could get a much more delicious sub at half the price! I even seem to remember 3-for-$5 specials, as well.
I occasionally make them at home, as well. While I thought the rice-and-wheat-flour bread was key to the bahn mi, you can make a decent one with any light crispy bread/roll.
There’s a very good tutorial here by Andrea Ngyuen, author of The Bahn Mi Handbook, about making them at home (for those of you who don’t have access to bahn mis or are just curious about putting them together for yourself) and the keys to a good bahn mi. I still prefer to plunk down my fiver and get a sandwich at the closet bahn mi place, but it’s a bit of a hike for me, so I’ll settle for making them myself from time to time.
My love for pho always made me overlook other Vietnamese menu items like banh mi. That is, until someone at work took orders for them one day and brought-in a bag full of several flavors for lunch. My reaction after the first bite: “F!ck mi! How come I never had this before!” Since then, love. I love the juxtaposition of French bread and SE Asian flavor.
Brooklyn’s Sunset Park Chinatown had Vietnamese joints which sold bahn mi for two bucks. Not believing this could be anything but a TINY bahn mi, I ordered one as an appetizer at lunch, along with the regular meal. It was the size of a normal New York hero.
As they caught on, bahn mi places extended out to fancier neighborhoods, and now I have a half-dozen within walking distance, all charging $7-8 for a standard sandwich.
Pulykamell is right — as he usually is, th’ SOB — the regular cold cut bahn mi (order it spicy) is the best, closely followed by the sardine/tomato bahn mi (order it spicy).
In any case, these things are available and delicious all over the civilized parts of the U.S. Don’t hesitate to get one just because you’re not in Southeast Asia any more.
I’ve been eating banh mi sandwiches for years…one of the perks of being in So Cal. Even non-Asian restaurants often have a version on their menus.
For me, it’s the combination of all the ingredients that makes it work. The mix of crunchy veg. The vinegary dressing. The crisp/soft bread. Any protein is fine, but the one I really crave is grilled pork.
