Bánh mì or banh mi (, ; Vietnamese: [??? mî]) refers to a kind of sandwich that consists of a Vietnamese single-serving baguette, also called bánh mì in Vietnamese, split lengthwise and filled with various ingredients.
A typical Vietnamese sandwich is a fusion of meats and vegetables from native Vietnamese cuisine - such as ch? l?a (pork sausage), coriander, cucumber, and pickled carrots and daikon (?? chua) - and condiments from French cuisine - such as pâté, jalapeño, and mayonnaise. However, there is a wide variety of popular fillings, from xíu m?i to ice cream. In Vietnam, sandwiches are typically eaten for breakfast or as a snack; they are considered too dry for lunch or dinner.
The baguette was introduced to Vietnam in the mid-19th century, when Vietnam was part of French Indochina, and became a staple food by the early 20th century. During the 1950s, a distinctly Vietnamese style of sandwich developed in Saigon, becoming a popular street food. Following the Vietnam War, Overseas Vietnamese popularized the bánh mì sandwich in countries such as the United States.
Video Bánh mì
Terminology
In Vietnamese, the word bánh mì is derived from bánh (which can refer to many kinds of food, including bread) and mì (wheat). It may also be spelled bánh m? in northern Vietnam. Taken alone, bánh mì means "bread" but is understood to be the Vietnamese baguette. Via synecdoche, it may also refer to a sandwich, with the term bánh mì k?p being used to disambiguate. In particular, bánh mì often refers to the sandwiches made on Vietnamese baguettes, which may be called bánh mì Sài Gòn, after the city in which they were popularized. However, even in Vietnam, "a bánh mì for breakfast" implies a meat-filled sandwich for breakfast, not just bread.
A folk etymology claims that the word bánh mì is a corruption of the French pain de mie, meaning soft, white bread. However, bánh or its Nôm form ? has referred to rice cakes and other pastries since as early as the 13th century, centuries before French contact.
Maps Bánh mì
History
The word bánh mì, meaning "bread", is attested in Vietnamese as early as the 1830s, in Jean-Louis Taberd's dictionary Dictionarium Latino-Annamiticum. French colonists introduced Vietnam to the baguette, along with other baked goods such as pâté chaud, in the 1860s, when Vietnam was part of French Indochina. Northern Vietnamese initially called the baguette bánh tây, literally "Western bánh", while southern Vietnamese called it bánh mì, "wheat bánh". Nguy?n ?ình Chi?u mentions the baguette in his 1861 poem "V?n t? ngh?a s? C?n Giu?c". Due to the price of imported wheat at the time, French baguettes and sandwiches were considered luxury items. During World War I, an influx of French soldiers and supplies arrived. At the same time, disruptions of wheat imports led bakers to begin mixing in inexpensive rice flour (which also made the bread fluffier). As a result, it became possible for ordinary Vietnamese to enjoy French staples such as bread. Many shops baked twice a day, because bread tends to go stale more quickly in the Vietnamese climate. Baguettes were mainly eaten for breakfast with some butter and sugar.
Until the 1950s, sandwiches hewed closely to French tastes, typically a jambon-beurre moistened with a mayonnaise or liver pâté spread. The 1954 Partition of Vietnam sent over a million migrants from North Vietnam to South Vietnam, transforming Saigon's local cuisine. Among the migrants were Lê Minh Ng?c and Nguy?n Th? T?nh, who opened a small bakery named Hòa Mã in District 3. In 1958, Hòa Mã became one of the first shops to sell bánh mì th?t. Around this time, another migrant from the North began selling ch? sandwiches from a basket on a mobylette, and a stand in Gia ??nh Province (present-day Phú Nhu?n District) began selling phá l?u sandwiches. Some shops stuffed sandwiches with inexpensive Cheddar cheese, which came from French food aid that migrants from the North had rejected. Vietnamese communities in France also began selling bánh mì.
After the Fall of Saigon in 1975, bánh mì sandwiches became a luxury item once again. During the so-called "subsidy period", state-owned ph? eateries often served bread or cold rice as a side dish, leading to the present-day practice of dipping qu?y in ph?. In the 1980s, ??i M?i market reforms led to a renaissance in bánh mì, mostly as street food.
Meanwhile, Vietnamese Americans brought bánh mì sandwiches to cities across the United States. In Northern California, Lê V?n Bá and his sons are credited with popularizing bánh mì among Vietnamese and non-Vietnamese Americans alike through their food truck services provider and their fast food chain, Lee's Sandwiches, beginning in the 1980s. Sometimes bánh mì was likened to local sandwiches. In New Orleans, a "Vietnamese po' boy" recipe won the 2009 award for best po' boy at the annual Oak Street Po-Boy Festival. A restaurant in Philadelphia also sells a similar sandwich, marketed as a "Vietnamese hoagie".
Bánh mì sandwiches were featured in the 2002 PBS documentary Sandwiches That You Will Like. The word bánh mì was added to the Oxford English Dictionary on 24 March 2011. As of 2017, bánh mì is included in about two percent of U.S. restaurant sandwich menus, a nearly fivefold increase from 2013.
Ingredients
Bread
A Vietnamese baguette has a thin crust and white, airy crumb. It may consist of both wheat flour and rice flour.
Besides being made into a sandwich, it is eaten alongside meat dishes, such as bò kho (a beef stew), curry, and phá l?u. It can also be dipped in condensed milk (see S?a Ông Th?).
Fillings
A bánh mì sandwich typically consists of one or more meats, accompanying vegetables, and condiments. Common fillings include steamed, pan-roasted or oven-roasted seasoned pork belly, Vietnamese sausage, grilled pork, grilled pork patties, spreadable pork liver pâté, pork floss, grilled chicken, chicken floss, canned sardines in tomato sauce, soft pork meatballs in tomato sauce (xíu m?i), head cheese, mock duck, and tofu. Accompanying vegetables typically include fresh cucumber slices, cilantro (leaves of the coriander plant) and pickled carrots and white radishes in shredded form. Common condiments include spicy chili sauce, sliced chilis, Maggi seasoning sauce, mayonnaise, and Laughing Cow cheese.
Varieties
As with Western sandwiches, there are a wide variety of popular bánh mì fillings. A typical bánh mì shop in the United States offers at least ten varieties.
The most popular variety of Vietnamese sandwich is bánh mì th?t, th?t meaning "meat". Bánh mì th?t ngu?i (also known as bánh mì pâté ch? th?t, bánh mì ??c bi?t, or "special combo") is made with various Vietnamese cold cuts, such as sliced pork or pork belly, ch? l?a (pork sausage), and head cheese, along with the liver pâté and vegetables like carrot or cucumbers.
Other varieties include:
- Bánh mì bì (shredded pork sandwich) - shredded pork or pork skin, doused with fish sauce
- Bánh mì chà bông (pork floss sandwich)
- Bánh mì xíu m?i (minced pork meatball sandwich) - smashed pork meatballs
- Bánh mì cá mòi (sardine sandwich)
- Bánh mì pa-tê (pâté sandwich)
- Bánh mì xá xíu or bánh mì th?t n??ng (barbecue pork sandwich)
- Bánh mì ch? l?a or bánh mì giò l?a (pork sausage sandwich)
- Bánh mì gà n??ng (grilled chicken sandwich)
- Bánh mì chay (vegetarian sandwich) - made with tofu or seitan; in Vietnam, usually made at Buddhist temples during special religious events, but uncommon on the streets
- Bánh mì ch? cá (fish patty sandwich)
- Bánh mì b? (margarine sandwich) - margarine and sugar
- Bánh mì tr?ng ?p-la (fried egg sandwich) - contains fried eggs with onions, sprinkled with soy sauce, sometimes buttered; served for breakfast in Vietnam
- Bánh mì k?p kem (ice cream sandwich) - contains scoops of ice cream topped with crushed peanuts
The Vietnamese bánh mì sandwich has been adapted to Lao cuisine as khao ch? (Lao: ????????) and to Cambodian cuisine as num pang (Khmer: ??????).
Notable vendors
Prior to the Fall of Saigon in 1975, well-known South Vietnamese bánh mì vendors included Bánh mì Ba L? and Bánh mì Nh? Lan (which opened in 1968).
In regions of the United States with significant populations of Vietnamese Americans, numerous bakeries and fast food restaurants specialize in bánh mì. Lee's Sandwiches, a fast food chain with locations in several states, specializes in Vietnamese sandwiches served on French baguettes (or traditional bánh mì at some locations) as well as Western-style sandwiches served on croissants. In New Orleans, Dong Phuong Oriental Bakery is known for the bánh mì bread that it distributes to restaurants throughout the city. After 1975, Ba L? owner Võ V?n L? fled to the United States and, along with Lâm Qu?c Thanh, founded Bánh mì Ba Lê. The Eden Center shopping center in Northern Virginia has several well-known bakeries specializing in bánh mì.
Mainstream fast food chains have also incorporated bánh mì and other Vietnamese dishes into their portfolios. Yum! Brands operates a chain of bánh mì cafés called Bánh Shop. The former Chipotle-owned ShopHouse Southeast Asian Kitchen chain briefly sold bánh mì. Jack in the Box offers a "bánh mì-inspired" fried chicken sandwich as part of its Food Truck Series. McDonald's and Paris Baguette locations in Vietnam offer bánh mì.
See also
References
External links
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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