foodha for thought – menuism blog

If you’re a sandwich lover plus you’re partial to cheap eats, the banh mi may be your next favorite sandwich.  So what exactly is Banh Mi?  Sometimes referred to as a “Vietnamese Hoagie”, it’s basically a Vietnamese submarine sandwich made with a French-inspired baguette.  Introduced to Vietnam by the French in the early 20th century, the first banh mi (pronounced BUN-mee) were just bread, butter and ham or duck or goose liver pâté.  Done the French way, this sandwich was traditional and minimal.

Over time, the Vietnamese adapted the banh mi and made it their own. Since wheat isn’t grown in Vietnam and has to be imported, the baguettes were baked with half rice and wheat flour. The French butter was still referred to as “butter”, but was a mayonnaise like spread made from egg yolks and oil.  Pickled carrots, daikon, jalapeno, cilantro and cucumber were added for flavor.   What really made the Vietnamese banh mi stand out from the French version were the selection of meats that could be added to the sandwich.  A lot of these meats were home cured and also showcased the fact that Vietnam has a long tradition of pig-preserving, from headcheese to pork rolls.

You could have your pick of grilled or barbecued pork,  grilled beef, roasted chicken, sardines or meatballs.  As mentioned above, other options include the pork roll, which is ground up pork that is packed tightly into a roll, wrapped with banana leaves and then steamed or boiled or  headcheese.  Headcheese is a combination of pork ears, tendons, skin, fats and other extra pork head meats that is  processed together into a roll and then sliced. Still need some porky goodness?   If so, you may want to order the shredded pork skin or the Vietnamese version of cold cuts, which is usually made of cured pork and layered with strips of fat. Believe it or not, there are even vegetarian options like tofu or wheat gluten.

As alluded to earlier, banh mi is cheap eats.   Banh Mi sandwich shops will sell banh mi within a range of $1.50 to as much as $5.00 each.  Considering how we are trying to save our pennies, banh mi is definitely a great alternative to eating out and not having to sell your house in order to do so.  Do you want to try a banh mi for yourself?  Than check out some restaurants below and hopefully, one of them is local to you.

Cho Cu Bakery
14520 Magnolia Street Suite B
Westminster, CA 92683
(714) 891-3718

Banh Mi Ba Le
1909 International Blvd
Oakland, CA 94606
(510) 261-9800

Ba Le Bakery
5018 N Broadway
Chicago, IL 60640
(773) 561-4424

New Saigon Sandwich
696 Washington St
Boston, MA 02111
(617) 542-6296

Lee’s Sandwiches
Saigon Mall
3212 N. Jupiter Rd.
Garland, TX 75044
(469) 326 2392