Pork and Pâté Vietnamese Sandwich (Banh Mi) Recipe
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Of all the dishes to result from the French influence on the Vietnamese culture, the banh mi sandwich is one of the tastiest. The baguette, mayo, and pork may be borrowed from French cuisine, but the addition of jalapeños and cilantro makes this decidedly Vietnamese fare. Individual servings are often made on a small baguette, but we constructed two baguettes’ worth—enough for your next cocktail party.
This recipe was featured as part of our Spicy Holiday Cocktail Party menu, our Most Delicious Sandwiches photo gallery, and our Chile Pepper Recipes photo gallery.
For the pork:
- 10 cups simmering water
- 1/2 cup kosher salt
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 3 medium garlic cloves, peeled
- 2 medium serrano chiles, crushed
- 1 tablespoon black peppercorns, cracked
- 3 pounds boneless pork butt
For the pickled carrots:
- 1/2 cup distilled white vinegar
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 1/2 cups peeled and coarsely shredded carrots (from about 3 medium)
To assemble:
- 2 Vietnamese or French baguettes (not sourdough)
- 6 tablespoons Basic Mayonnaise or high-quality store-bought mayonnaise
- 10 ounces pork pâté (optional)
- 1 large English cucumber, halved crosswise and sliced lengthwise into 1/8-inch-thick pieces
- 1/2 cup packed fresh cilantro leaves
- 4 jalapeños, sliced lengthwise into 1/8-inch-thick pieces
- 4 teaspoons light soy sauce
- Toothpicks, for serving
- Pour 2 cups of the simmering water into a 6-quart heatproof container with a tightfitting lid, then remove the remaining water from heat. Add salt and sugar to the heatproof container and stir until dissolved. Add garlic, chiles, peppercorns, and pork. Top with remaining 8 cups of now-tepid water to fully cover the meat. Submerge the meat if necessary by filling a resealable bag with water and placing it on top. Cover and refrigerate 12 hours or overnight.
- When the pork is ready, remove from the liquid, rinse, pat dry with paper towels, and place fat side up in a roasting pan. Allow to come to room temperature for about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, heat the oven to 400°F and arrange a rack in the middle. Roast pork until the internal temperature reaches 165°F, about 1 hour 45 minutes. Let cool to room temperature, at least 45 minutes, then slice thinly, about 1/8 inch thick.
For the pickled carrots:
- Combine vinegar, sugar, and salt in a small saucepan over medium heat. Once sugar and salt have dissolved, remove from heat, add carrots, and stir to coat in pickling mixture. Let stand until carrots have softened, at least 30 minutes or overnight. Drain well and set aside.
To assemble:
- Slice off the top 1/3 of the baguettes lengthwise and set aside. Remove enough of the bottom interiors so that the filling can fit easily.
- Spread 1 tablespoon of the mayonnaise on each baguette’s upper 1/3 and 2 tablespoons on each bottom. Crumble half of the pâté (if using) on each bottom section, then top with sliced pork (there may be some left over), cucumber, cilantro leaves, pickled carrots, and jalapeños. Sprinkle each sandwich with soy sauce and close with the upper parts of the baguettes. Place 10 toothpicks approximately 1 inch apart to secure the sandwiches and slice into about 10 (1-1/2-inch) pieces. Serve.
Beverage pairing: Tiger Beer, Singapore. Banh mi are wonderful street food and could be washed down by any number of beverages. But a light lager such as Tiger from Singapore—which is found all over Vietnam—is a good choice. Its thirst-quenching rush of bubbles will refresh the palate and salve the heat (if you put a lot of chile on the bun).
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This belief that Vietnamese baguettes are being made with rice flour is sort of interesting. I'd like to see some concrete backing on this claim. During my 2+ years living in Vietnam I ate myself a bánh mì or two and usually asked about every ingredient they put inside the sandwich- on multiple occasions. Most people told me they only use wheat flour in the baguettes, the reason they are lighter than french style baguettes is amount of baking soda used. They said rice flour doesn't make a good baguette. Everyone has their own opinion I guess. So whiel some bakeries might use rice flour, it looks like there's more than one way to achieve the desired light and crispy texture. B.T.W. the central coast of Việt Nam from Cam Ranh up through Hội An is where the best bánh mì can be had.
I've been obsessed with these sandwiches since I got the recipe from Chow via email last week. I didn't have all the authentic Vietnamese ingredients: I used grilled pork shoulder in a sort of teriyaki style marinade and Trader Joe's chicken liver pate, I combined the pickled carrots with daikon radish, and used fish sauce instead of the soy sauce but everything else was from the Chow recipe --- best thing I've put in my smacker in awhile. Then the Irony: I noticed my local Asian market has a Bahn Mi shop right in the store. I got to try one of their's one of these days and compare it to my Chow-adaptated homemade sandwich. Thanks for the recipe and even more for the knowledge of these crazy little cross-cultural yummies.
I think I'll just go to the Vietnamese grocery store/deli and buy one. This is too much trouble.
There's definitely something unique about the BBQ pork, as glendabbrown eludes to. Some places have better pork than others, and the best usually has a little of that nice charred taste from cooking over a flame. But it's also usually stained a deep red from some kind of crazy marinade, almost the same as Chicken 65 (Indian dish).
ALSO, there is SOMETHING really special about the mayonnaise they use. It isn't just straight mayo, and it has a yellow tinge and some considerable sweetness and tartness. If you can't figure out what the traditional mayonnaise 'sauce' consists of, then Kewpie Japanese mayo is a close second...and Hellmans would be like, in case of emergency. But don't you dare... :)
Whenever we visited NYC we always visited A Chau deli on Mulberry street in Chinatown, absolutely loved the crispy rolls and fresh ingredients. Unfortunately the place has closed. :(
Any recommendations for our next visit? We prefer local mom and pop places.
The vietnamese baguette is fluffier due to the fact they use a mixture or rice flour and wheat flower as rice is more readily available than in the states or france
I've had a variety of this sandwich made with bbq pork and all the same veggies, etc. Anyone know how they make that pork? These are the most awesome sandwiches in the world!!!
Jeez JRCann YOU ARE CORRECT!!! I'm a bread fanatic and completely missed that! SCORE FOR JRCann!
I think the "secret ingredient" in bahn mi is the bread, which the article completely ignored. A very good french baguette (an elusive thing in the US) while a subsitute for the Vietnamese loaf is simply not the same. The bahn mi relys so much on texture and the light flavorful taste from the bread that the fillings take almost (but not really) a back seat to the bread. How about a good recipe for the bread?
irksomecushion:
To add to Amy's pate suggestion, the most appropriate place to purchase the southeast asian pate is in the chinatown area of your city. ALSO, its the cheapest place to pick up pate and Sriracha sauce. Count on saving up to 50% on the Sriracha sauce sauce alone! In uptown gourmet stores Sriracha sauce is in the exotic, gourmet (i.e. EXPENSIVE) section. In chinatown, it's next to the Maggi and Ketchup. Also, in asian markets, pate is almost a staple item whereas in uptown stores it's a luxury often made with goose or duck ingredients..
irksomecushion, what I mean by "pork pâté" is a pâté that is made from pork as opposed to veal, or duck, etc. The kind I chose for this sandwich was more of a chunky French country-style rather than a very fine or smooth-textured style, but that is just a personal preference. As you can see, people have many variations for a banh mi, so use whatever pâté suits your palate.
What do you mean by "pork paté"?
Is this a normal french-style paté made with pork fat? Or is it a Vietnamese ingredient? Please enlighten.
Marcharlan,
Try it with beef or chicken. I've had vietnamese sandwiches with both bbq beef and five-spice chicken (google for a recipe).
An alternative is to do a veggie version. A friend of mine orders these all the time, and it consists of daikon, carrots, cucumber, chiles, cilantro, and the mayo spread.
I think daikon is essential to the Vietnamese sandwiches. Just pickle it as you would the carrots.
Another great addition is headcheese (to everyone else -- definitely not kosher). It adds a nice crunchy texture and added flavor to the baguette.
Although this may be heresy; since I live in a Kosher kitchen are there any meat suggestions in lieu of Pork?
Though I find cucumber essential, I agree that daikon is a lovely, crunchy substitute/addition... as is julienned jicama (though it delivers sweetness rather than zip along with the crunch).
Not serrano or jalapeño chilies, use some properly spicy bird chilies!
Sounds great. Mangez Avec Moi, in lower Manhattan (on W. Broadway btwn Murray and Warren) makes this sandwich. It is great. If you ask for it hot, they use Sriracha. The ham, while ok, is not the best quality. The sandwich is otherwise great. Perfect bread and fresh ingredients.
In lower Manhattan there was a Banh Mi shop that squirted a few lines of Sriracha sauce into the bread before adding any ingredients!
Gave it a nice "bite"
When I was younger, my mom would make these sandwiches all the time. I've never seen asian mayo, but you can mix 1 part butter at room temp. with 1 part mayo together.
Sounds great. Can you fix the wonky formatting of the recipe? It's confusing.
Feel free to substitute Daikon radish for the cucumber - it is crunchier and therefore better in this sandwich!
Political commentary is irrelevant to a story on making a sandwich.
While banh mi may be tasty, I disagree with how you label it "one of [your] favorite things to come out of the [forced, oppressive] French colonization of Vietnam." It's a rather naively positive characterization of what the French did to Vietnam.
about the fish sauce-I put it on,its awesome, but where ever I do this the Vietmanese vendor cringes in disapproval. Even better with Nước chấm
Most of the banh mi I've had use (instead of soy sauce) Maggi or Golden Mountain, found in most SE asian stores. It's not as heavy as soy sauce.
I found a nice little recipe for the mayonnaise that is traditionally spread on the bread.
Prepare 1 egg yolk and 100 ml of oil (vegetable oil, or olive oil if you like)
1. Separate the egg yolk and egg white. Keep the egg yolk
2. Add the egg yolk into an electric mixer. Turn on at lowest speed.
3. Add half a teaspoon of oil into the egg yolk. Mix until the egg yolk and the oil are well blended into each other
4. Add another half a teaspoon of oil into the mixture and continue to mix until everything is finely blended.
5. Continue to add half a teaspoon of oil until you finish that 100ml
It should take about 30-45 minutes for 1 egg yolk. When finished, the sauce will have twice the volume of the original oil.
I was thinking that there should be fish sauce somewhere in there.
I'm saving this for a casual party.
This recipe needs to be made with Asian mayonnaise, which has a noticeably sweeter flavor. Regular mayonnaise tastes completely wrong for this kind of sandwich.