About this recipe
Bánh mì is a family of sandwiches, not one recipe. What holds the family together is the bread — a light, thin-crusted roll with a hollow, airy crumb — and the assembly logic: a fatty spread, a protein, pickled vegetables, cucumber, cilantro and chilli, with a savoury seasoning liquid. This recipe builds the cold-cut version, bánh mì thịt nguội, and gives a grilled-pork variation. The pickles, đồ chua, are made first because they need an hour.
Recipe facts
- Yield
- 4 sandwiches
- Prep
- 30 minutes (plus 1 hour pickling)
- Cook
- 10 minutes
- Total
- 100 minutes
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Spice
- Mild–Medium (adjust chilli)
Allergens Contains wheat (gluten), egg (mayonnaise), pork and fish (fish sauce). Pâté may contain dairy.
Development draft. This is an untested development recipe from the cookbook project. It has not been kitchen-tested, and the quantities and timings are the author’s working draft rather than a verified result.
Ingredients
Đồ chua (pickled carrot and daikon)
- 1 medium carrot, about 5 oz (140 g), cut into matchsticks
- 1 small daikon radish, about 7 oz (200 g), cut into matchsticks
- 1 tsp (6 g) fine sea salt
- 3 tbsp (38 g) granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup (120 ml) warm water
- 1/2 cup (120 ml) distilled white or rice vinegar
The sandwiches
- 4 Vietnamese-style baguettes, about 8 in (20 cm) each
- 4 tbsp (60 g) pork liver pâté
- 4 tbsp (60 g) mayonnaise
- 8 oz (225 g) Vietnamese cold cuts — chả lụa (pork sausage), thịt nguội (ham) or a mix, thinly sliced
- 1/2 English cucumber, cut into long thin spears
- 1 large handful cilantro sprigs
- 1–2 fresh red chillies, thinly sliced
- 2 tsp (10 ml) Maggi Seasoning or light soy sauce
- Freshly ground black pepper
Equipment
- Mixing bowl
- Bread knife
- Jar or container for the pickles
Method
- Toss the carrot and daikon with the salt and 1 tbsp of the sugar in a bowl. Let stand 15 minutes, then squeeze out the liquid by handfuls and drain.
- Stir the remaining sugar into the warm water until dissolved, then stir in the vinegar. Pour over the squeezed vegetables in a jar. Let stand at least 1 hour at room temperature.
- Heat the baguettes in a 400°F/200°C oven for 4–5 minutes to re-crisp the crust, then let them cool enough to handle.
- Split each baguette lengthways, leaving a hinge. If the crumb is very thick, pull a little out to make room for the filling.
- Spread pâté on the bottom half and mayonnaise on the top half, edge to edge.
- Layer in the sliced cold cuts, then cucumber spears.
- Drain the pickles well and add a generous pinch to each sandwich.
- Add cilantro sprigs and sliced chilli. Sprinkle the cut faces with Maggi Seasoning and grind over black pepper.
- Close, press gently, and cut in half on the diagonal. Serve at once while the crust is still crisp.
Uses from this chapter
- Đồ Chua (Pickled Carrot & Daikon) (In this recipe / Foundations — Condiments) — Made as part of the recipe; also used in #23 and #24
From the foundations
The book pairs this recipe with the following, from the sauces, sambals and pastes that open the collection.
The Complete Edition
Bánh Mì sits in the Vietnam chapter
The book carries this recipe in full alongside the rest of the Vietnam chapter, the pastes and dips it is built on, and the twenty-seven pantry studies that open the collection.
In review with Amazon KDP
Both editions have been submitted to Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing and are currently in review. Submitted prices are $9.99 for the kindle edition and $49.99 for the paperback. Neither is on sale yet, and prices are as submitted rather than final.