Recipe archive
Recipe archive
The Melting Pot
Banh Mi hero image coming soon
1970s-present - Vietnamese refugees and Vietnamese American sandwich shops
A Vietnamese American banh mi sandwich with crisp baguette, mayonnaise, pate, pork or tofu, pickled carrot and daikon, cucumber, jalapeno, and cilantro.
Difficulty
Medium
Prep time
30 minutes plus pickling
Cook time
10 minutes
Total time
40 minutes plus pickling
Servings
4 sandwiches
Region
Vietnamese American communities and suburbs
Era introduced
1970s-present
Introduced by
Vietnamese refugees and Vietnamese American sandwich shops
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Banh mi begins with Vietnam, where French-introduced bread met Vietnamese fillings, pickles, herbs, chiles, and pate. In the United States, Vietnamese refugees and immigrants after 1975 built bakeries, delis, and sandwich shops that made banh mi a fixture in California, Texas, Louisiana, Virginia, and beyond. This version is a respectful home adaptation of the sandwich-shop style, with crisp bread, rich spread, pickles, herbs, and a savory filling.
Drafted with banh mi history from Culture Trip (https://theculturetrip.com/asia/vietnam/articles/the-curious-history-of-vietnams-banh-mi-sandwich), Vietnamese American context from Sir Kensington's (https://www.sirkensingtons.com/us/en/blog/everything-you-always-wanted-to-know-about-the-banh-mi-and-were-too-afraid-to-ask.html), and U.S. restaurant context from The New Yorker (https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2009/10/26/sau-voi-corp-and-baoguettepho-sure).
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