It is finally finished, the bánh mì (Vietnamese sandwich) recipe that has been requested by our dear friends, Josh & Steph. Thank you for patiently waiting. It was so nice to catch up with you guys.
Bánh mì (Vietnamese sandwich) originated in Saigon in the 1950s. The word bánh mì in Vietnamese means “bread”. Many people know bánh mì as a Vietnamese sandwich. A typical bánh mì is a baguette filled with meat, fresh vegetables, pate, soy sauce, fresh chili, pickled daikon and carrots. It is typically eaten for breakfast. However, when I lived in Vietnam, I definitely consumed it throughout the day.
I was intimidated about making it at home at first because there are so many ingredients that goes into this sandwich. But then I deconstructed the sandwich and then it’s not so overwhelming. After all, the only ingredients that I had to make were the steamed pork and pickled daikon & carrots. The other ingredients can be store bought.
So don’t be afraid to make bánh mì (Vietnamese sandwich) at home. It will be delicious and so much cheaper.
Varieties of bánh mì
Traditionally the meat filling consists of thịt jambon (rolled then steamed thick bacon), chả lụa (Vietnamese ham). However, I’ve also seen grilled chicken, grilled pork, BBQ pork, grilled beef, and grilled shrimp used. This is the nice thing about this iconic sandwich. You can customize the meat to your liking.
The ingredients
The bread
The French baguette is the bread of choice for this sandwich. If you purchase it from the store, place it in the oven for 5 minutes before assembling the sandwich. This way, once you bite into the sandwich, it will give you that crispy, crunchy texture.
Meat (pork & Vietnamese ham or chả lụa)
Traditionally, the meat (thịt jambon) is made of pork belly. However, today I’m going to use the pork shoulder, Boston butt roast, to make my thịt jambon. I’ve made the meat using both pork belly and pork shoulder, I just prefer the pork shoulder. The meat has to marinade overnight. Then steamed for 2 hours in a steamer basket.
The other meat in the recipe is called Chả Lụa (Vietnamese ham). This can be purchased at the Asian grocery store in the frozen section. It comes already cooked, so all you need to do is defrost it and it’s ready to be eaten. Chả lụa (Vietnamese ham) is meant to be eaten cold, or at room temperature. Don’t heat it up in the microwave. Treat it like a cold cut.
Pâté
I know some people are not a fan of pâté; however, putting this in bánh mì (Vietnamese sandwich) will add a lot of flavors and a bit of richness to the sandwich. You can make your own pâté by simply sautéing liver with onion, shallot and garlic. Then add a splash of cognac. I will post my chicken pâté recipe next week. Not interested in making your own pâté? That’s okay too. You can purchase the already made pâté.
Pâté is not only used as a spread in bánh mì (Vietnamese sandwich), it can also be used as a spread on toast, crackers, or cucumbers as an appetizer.
Fresh vegetables
Thinly sliced cucumbers lengthwise, pickled daikon & carrots, cilantro and of course sliced chili peppers if you want to add some heat.
Maggi seasoning
It is a condiment, and is similar to soy sauce but it’s not soy sauce. To me, Maggi has a more complex flavor profile than soy sauce. A small dash of this will go a long way.
I’ve seen Maggi seasoning sold in some of the American grocery store. However, if it’s not available, you can purchase it at any Asian grocery store, or you can purchase it here.
How to store left overs?
Because the Vietnamese sandwich gets assembled then consumed immediately, there are no special storage requirements. The pickled daikon & carrots are already being stored in the mason jar from when they were made, so no worries there. I store the Vietnamese ham or chả lụa in a plastic sandwich bag. As for the steamed pork, it gets stored in an air tight container.
So whenever I’m in the mood for bánh mì, all the ingredients are there to assemble the sandwich. Now a few things to keep in mind when assembling the sandwich after the ingredients have been stored in the fridge.
- Don’t microwave the Vietnamese ham (chả lụa).
- You can either heat up the steamed pork or not, that’s up to you. I normally will bring it to room temperature then assemble the sandwich.
- Don’t heat up the pickled daikon & carrots.
Bánh Mì (Vietnamese Sandwich)
Equipment
- Steamer
Ingredients
Ingredients for the cooking the steam pork:
- 1 pound pork shoulder Boston butt roast or pork belly
- 1 tbsp chicken powder
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp cooking wine
- ½ tsp pepper
Ingredients for assembling the sandwich:
- Vietnamese ham or chả lụa
- Pickled daikon & radish
- Sliced cucumbers
- Magi
- Cilantro
- Steamed pork
- Spreadable butter
- Toasted baguette
Instructions
Instructions for preparing the pork shoulder:
- I always start out by washing the meat. Sprinkle salt on the pork, then gently rub the salt into the pork. Rinse the salt off with warm water then pat the pork dry with paper towels.
- Score both sides of the meat by cutting ⅛ to ¼ inch deep into the meat. Set the meat aside and prepare the marinade.
Instructions for the marinade:
- Mix all the ingredients in a bowl.
- Then pour the mixture over the meat and gently rub mixture into the meat. Make sure both sides of the meat is covered in marinade.
- Place the meat in a container. Cover the container with plastic wrap then place in the fridge to marinade over night.
Instructions for cooking the pork:
- Fill a pot with water. Place a steamer basket on top. Make sure the water does not touch the steamer basket.
- Wrap the meat in parchment paper.
- Then wrap aluminum foil over the parchment paper.
- Place the meat in the steamer basket, close the lid and let the meat steam for 2 hours.
- After the 2 hours, remove the meat from the steamer basket and remove the parchment paper and aluminum foil.
Instructions for assembling the sandwich:
- Place the baguette in the oven for 5 minutes to toast it.
- Cut the baguette lengthwise.
- Spread butter on one side of the baguette then add a couple dashes of Magi on top of the butter.
- On the other side of the baguette, spread a desired amount of pate.
- Place pieces of the steamed pork, thinly sliced pieces of Vietnamese ham or chả in the baguette.
- Then add thinly sliced cucumbers, pickled daikon & radish, cilantro on top of the meat…and there you have it, a homemade bánh mì (Vietnamese sandwich).
The next time you want to serve sandwiches for lunch, serve bánh mì (Vietnamese sandwich) instead. If you try this recipe, leave me a comment below. I’d love to hear your thoughts.
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It looks so good! We can’t wait to try it!