Bánh Mì

Make Ahead and Storage

Assemble to order — the bread softens within 20 minutes. Pickles keep 3 weeks; cooked pork keeps 3 days.

How to Make Bánh Mì

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1. Dissolve the sugar and salt in the warm water, add the vinegar, and pour over the carrot and daikon. Leave at least 1 hour, or refrigerate up to 3 weeks.

   Mark done

2. Marinate the sliced pork in the fish sauce, brown sugar, soy sauce, garlic, sesame oil and pepper for 30 minutes.

   Mark done Start 30 min timer

3. Grill or pan-fry the pork over the highest heat for 2 to 3 minutes per side, until charred at the edges and caramelised.

   Mark done Start 2 min timer

4. Warm the baguettes in a hot oven for 4 minutes so the crust crackles, then split them lengthways without cutting all the way through.

   Mark done Start 4 min timer

5. Pull out a little of the soft crumb from the top half to make room for the filling.

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6. Spread pâté on the bottom half and mayonnaise on the top.

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7. Layer in the pork, then a generous handful of drained pickles, cucumber batons, coriander and chilli.

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8. Sprinkle a little Maggi seasoning over the filling, close the sandwich, press firmly, and eat immediately.

   Mark done

Related guide: Prep, cook and total time.

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A Few Pointers

• The baguette must be light and crackly, not dense and chewy — a Vietnamese-style loaf with a thin crust is ideal.
• Do not skip the pâté. It provides the savoury depth the whole sandwich is built on.
• Make a big jar of pickles; they keep for weeks and improve everything.

Behind the Recipe

Đồ chua, the quick pickle of carrot and daikon, does the structural work of the sandwich: its acidity cuts the fat of the pâté and mayonnaise while its crunch contrasts with the soft meat. Hollowing out some of the crumb keeps the ratio right and stops the filling squeezing out on the first bite.

Good Alongside

Vietnamese iced coffee or a cold lager · Serve with a bowl of phở for the full experience · Finish with fresh mango

Changing the Recipe

• Dried chilli flakes can stand in for the red chillies. Heat varies a great deal between chillies and between jars, so start with a small pinch and add more to taste.
• An eighth of a teaspoon of garlic powder per clove is the stand-in usually given when you are out of fresh garlic; it will not brown the same way, and it burns easily, so add it with the liquid.

Quick Answers

Bánh Mì Nutrition

No nutrition figures are given for this recipe: they cannot be worked out reliably from its ingredient list (some ingredient lines cannot be read). Why some recipes have none.

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