Here’s How To Build The Perfect Banh Mi

@numpangkitchen

These Vietnamese sandwiches are everywhere. During the Vietnam war, the French brought over their language and food, including the baguette. The long, thin loaf used for the banh mi is made with a combination of rice and wheat flour. Fittingly, banh mi actually translates to bread in Vietnamese. A classic banh mi consists of an airy and crunchy French-style baguette stuffed with ingredients like jalapeños, cilantro, cucumber, meat, pickled vegetables, daikon radish, seasonings, soy or tamari and mayo.

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The banh mi encompasses so many diverse flavors and they all work in harmony. Even though there is a traditional way to prepare the sandwich, it’s up to the individual to put their own spin on it. The Vietnamese baguette is made with a combination of rice and wheat flour so that it’s lighter and fluffier and can be stuffed with more ingredients. The sandwich was historically known as a food staple of the working poor in Vietnam, but the rise of the sandwich in America can be attributed to pop-culture food trends and especially food trucks. Food trucks are the best possible vehicle (pun intended) for spreading culture and inventive street food to people that otherwise wouldn’t get to experience it.

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When you bite into a banh mi you’ll taste the crunchiness pickles and carrots, crispiness of the bread, juiciness of the meat, creaminess of the spread and spiciness of the chili. Then there’s the cooling cilantro and cucumber to balance it all out. It’s pretty much everything you could hope for in a sandwich.

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Here’s How To Build The Perfect Banh Mi

The bread is the first decision you’ll have to make. If you live in a city, check out a Vietnamese bakery for the freshest piece of bread you can find with a signature crispy crust, but a soft, chewy inside. You don’t want a baguette that’s going to crumble all over you.

In order to moisten the bread, a traditional banh mi has a thin layer of pâté, some kind of mayo, or avocado for creaminess.

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Veggies definitely make the sandwich. You can add thin slices of jalapeños or chilis. Sweet and sour pickled daikon radishes and pickled carrots are fundamental. Herbs like cilantro, mint and Thai basil help to add freshness to the sandwich. Cucumber also adds a cooling aspect to the banh mi. The veggies give the sandwich its distinctive and necessary crunch.

Classic meats include pork belly, grilled pork, Vietnamese sausage, spreadable pork liver pâté, grilled chicken, tofu and pork meatballs. More Americanized banh mi, like that from the sandwich chain Num Pang, pack their baguettes with catfish, tiger shrimp, cauliflower, steak or brisket.

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For the finishing condiments, have Sriracha on hand. Maggi sauce, a cross between soy sauce and liquid beef bouillon (a sauce that the French brought to Vietnam), is a classic topping. Spicy mayo is always a good choice.

There you have it. Get yourself to the store and whip up a batch of banh mi for your next summer BBQ.