Bánh Mì

As far as Vietnamese street food goes, bánh mì earns top rankings for its irresistibly savory flavors—umami-packed pork, creamy mayonnaise, crunchy vegetables, and a light crispy baguette come together for sandwich perfection.

Having lived in two of the largest Vietnamese diasporas, New Orleans and currently in Orange County, California, I’ve had some of the best bánh mì in America. In fact, I grew up across the street from where New Orleans’ most famous Vietnamese baguettes are made—the James Beard award-winning bakery Dong Phuong. Their baguettes supply dozens of regional cafés and shops that make the city’s iconic Vietnamese bánh mì sandwiches.

For this recipe, I stayed true to the authentic bánh mì I grew up with and added a few conveniences, like oven broiling the pork, to make bánh mì a breeze at home.

How to make bánh mì at home

This recipe is a homemade version of the popular grilled pork bánh mì or “bánh mì thịt nướng” in Vietnamese. Compared to other combinations that have pâté or specialty cold cuts, pork bánh mì is much more accessible to home cooks. This recipe bakes and broils the pork in the oven instead of over a traditional charcoal grill. I found baking much simpler and cleaner yet still produced a fantastic flavor!

The hardest part about this recipe will be finding Vietnamese baguettes or a decent substitute (more on that below). Otherwise, the pork, seasonings, veggies, and mayonnaise are staple ingredients.

If you can, level up the mayonnaise for Kewpie mayonnaise, which is made exclusively with egg yolks, producing a rich yellow mayonnaise common in bánh mì. You can find Kewpie mayonnaise at major grocery stores like Target, Walmart, Ralphs, HEB, sometimes Costco, and Asian supermarkets.

What is bánh mì?

Bánh mì translates literally to “bread” in Vietnamese and is well-known today as a Vietnamese street food sandwich. The modern day bánh mì sandwich stemmed from French colonialism in Vietnam when French cuisine heavily influenced Vietnamese food culture. After the French defeat, Vietnamese cooks adapted a popular French sandwich made with cold cuts, butter, and cheese into what we recognize today as bánh mì. They incorporated rice flour into the baguette recipe, which produced a lighter interior and paper-thin crust. Mayonnaise replaced butter and veggies and pâté replaced expensive cold cuts.

What bread is used in bánh mì?

A Vietnamese baguette is the foundation for an authentic bánh mì. Vietnamese baguettes are similar to a crusty French baguette, except made in part with rice flour for a pillowy interior and a paper-thin crackly crust. No matter how great the other ingredients are, the baguette is what makes or breaks bánh mì. If you have access to a Vietnamese bakery, make the trip for their baguettes! It's worth it for an authentic sandwich. Otherwise, I suggest substituting the bread with a soft and wide French bread or a fresh French baguette in that order and always lightly toasted. Avoid denser loaves like sourdough or rye since they're heavier and tougher to chew.

Make ahead tips

To make assembly super-easy, you can prepare the ingredients days in advance. The pork can be sliced, marinated, and broiled up to 2 days ahead. Refrigerate and store in an airtight container. To reheat, microwave covered for 90 seconds or air fry at 375º until warm, about 3 minutes.

If you're making everything in one day, follow the recipe to marinate the pork and pickle the vegetables first so both components can marinate or rest while you prepare garnishes.

Editor’s Note: This recipe was updated on September 28, 2022, to reflect changes to the recipe, to include more information about the dish and add a video.