Banh Mi Sandwich
What is a Banh Mi? It’s a Vietnamese recipe, a sandwich made with grilled pork, chicken or pate and commonly served by street vendors in Vietnam.
Bánh Mì literally means “bread” in Vietnamese; it refers to the French baguette bread that is used to make this Vietnamese sandwich.
This sandwich is popular around the world, especially in countries with a high concentration of Vietnamese people, from France, Canada, United Kingdom to the United States.
Ingredients for Vietnamese Banh Mi
- French baguettes
- Mayonnaise
- Pork or chicken
- Vietnamese picked carrots and daikon
- Cilantro leaves
Pork is commonly used and it’s called “Thịt Nuong” in Vietnamese, which literally means “grilled pork.” So, if you have a grilled pork sandwich, it’s called Banh Mi Thịt Nuong.
This popular Vietnamese sandwich can be easily found in most Vietnamese restaurants or Vietnamese-owned sandwich and bakery shops. There are a variety of meat choices—from steamed, pan-fried, to grilled. Thit Nuong grilled pork is the best!
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How to Make Pork Banh Mi?
First, you marinate the pork with lemongrass and other seasonings. Fire up the grill to grill the pork.
Next, you assemble the sandwich by spreading mayonnaise on the baguette before adding the grilled pork in the middle of the baguette bread. Top off with pickled carrots and daikon, cilantro and you will have a wholesome and filling sandwich.
Crusty and Light Baguette is the Best!
For the best results, use rustic and crusty baguette. I have a homemade Baguette recipe if you want to make it from scratch.
You can also buy French-style bread from supermarkets. The inside should be chewy soft and the outside crusty, but overall light in weight. You can refer to this article at Viet World Kitchen on which bread to buy from supermarkets.
How Many Calories Per Serving?
This recipe is 400 calories per serving.
What Dishes to Serve with this Recipe?
This sandwich is best served on its own. For a Vietnamese meal at home, I recommend the following recipes.
Pairs well with:
Banh Mi Recipe (Banh Mi Thit Noung)
Banh Mi is Vietnamese baguette with grilled meat. Easy banh mi recipe with grilled lemongrass pork and baguette to make the perfect banh mi at home.
Ingredients
- 2 lbs boneless pork butt, cut into 1/4-inch thick slices, 8-inch length by 2 1/2-inch width
- 4 8-inch French baguette, sliced lengthwise
- 3 tablespoons mayonnaise
- pickled carrots and daikon, store-bought
- 1 bunch cilantro leaves
Lemongrass Pork Marinade:
- 1/2 cup minced lemongrass
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 3 tablespoons fish sauce
- 1 1/2 tablespoons ground black pepper
- 5 shallots, peeled and minced
- 3 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
- 2 tablespoons sesame oil
- 2 tablespoons cooking oil
- 2 tablespoons sweet soy sauce
Directions
-
1
Lightly pound the pork slices with a mallet or the back of the kitchen knife. In a bowl, mix all the Marinade ingredients together. Marinate the pork with the Marinade, for 2 hours or best overnight. Discard excess marinade before grilling.
-
2
Fire up the grill. Arrange the marinated pork onto the grill. Grill until the pork is nicely charred on both sides or until the pork is cooked through. If you are using a broiler oven, broil for 5-7 minutes on each side or until the pork is completely cooked and nicely charred.
-
3
Remove the pork from the grill. Spread the the mayonnaise on the baguette and add a few grilled pork slices. Top the pork with pickled carrots and daikon and cilantro leaves. Cut the baguette into halves and serve immediately.
Bob NG
I prefer banh mi served with pate, vietnamese ham or egg omelette
Rasa Malaysia
Yes, that’s very good, too.
QL7
So, where’s the pate?
Rasa Malaysia
This recipe doesn’t have pate.
Shirley
Where can we get Char Jway Teo’s sweet sauce here in Miami ?
Jenny
Can i use chicken breast as my husband don’t eat pork
John
Make it your own recipe. Of course you can change the recipe to suit your dietary restrictions. It’s all a part of cooking.
Christine A
I looooove this recipe and I’ve been making it for a couple of years now…..it’s my husbands favorite!! If I wanted to make this recipe with chicken thighs, how long should I cook it??
Rasa Malaysia
Same way.
Ann
I used pork neck fillet which I think is the same as a pork butt and it was simply delicious. I am going to use the same marinade on strips of pork next time for a stir fry. This is a great recipe. Thank you.
zymurgy
I logged in properly, but the printed recipe is in an unreadable text, even though the print sample on screen is good. What happened? I never had trouble before.
Chantelle
I am a huggggge fan of banh-mi sandwiches and when i found this recipe…I had to try it! I followed the recipe exactly and even pickled the carrots. When the pork was broiling, my home smelled like heaven. When I finally had the chance to build the banh-mi with as much pork, cilantro and jalepenos as I wanted, I just closed my eyes and smiled. Thank you for sharing! I absolutely love te recipes on this website.
Chung-Ah | Damn Delicious
I love this! Jason and I just bought $3 banh mi but they totally skimped on the meat – definitely need to make it at home and stuff the goodies!
Rasa Malaysia
Chung-Ah, that’s great you will love it.
Arch
I make this a lot and it’s a wonderful recipe! Thank you so much for sharing this with us !!!
Amanda
I was very excited to make this (I love buying banh mi and wanted to try my hand at it) and I finally got everything together today. I bought a grill basket to cook the meat in so it would be easier and not fall through my grill. It worked great, and tasted fantastic! We ate 1/4 of the meat before it even made it to the sandwiches. Thanks for this great recipe! I can’t wait to make some of the others on here.
Joy
Hi, I’ve been following your website for awhile and finally got round to trying one of your recipes. (I have 2 young kids so it isn’t always easy to cook) Tried this recipe and my whole family LOVED it!!! It was so simple and absolutely delicious. We polished the whole lot off! Thanks so much for sharing this. I’m definitely looking forward to trying out more of your recipes. :)
lynn @ the actor's diet
banh mi me, please!!! i can’t believe when i was in vietnam i never had one, but i’ve had a few in socal that have been amazing.
Rosie
We recently came back from a trip to Cambodia where they sell banh mi sandwiches on carts along the streets during the day. They have a almost clear yellowish spread that they use in the sandwich and as a dip. It is sooooo good. I just wanted to share it with all of you.
It is basically yellow mayonaise with the egg yolk instead of the egg whites. Just crack two or three eggs, separating the yolk and discard the whites(or keep it to make something else). I use a handheld whisk on low speed. Add about one cup of oil to one and a half cup (used canola oil) and mix for about four to six minutes. You will see it becoming thick and then turn a bit translucent. Add about one table spoon of sugar and mix it a bit more. Then scoop it up in a container and put it in the fridge until you are ready to use it on your sandwiches. You can add more sugar or oil adjusting it to your taste. In Cambodia, they use more oil and less egg because egg was more expensive then oil. The husband loves this stuff and even uses it on his tuna sandwich or in place of mayo. I hope you will try it and like it also. Best wishes.
Rasa Malaysia
Hi Rosie, thanks for sharing the secret yellow mayo recipe!!! :)
Et
I have sweet sauce used for frying char kway teow. Is this the same as sweet soya sauce. thanks
Rasa Malaysia
Look for the label ‘Sweet Soy Sauce’ or ‘Kecap Manis’. Its not the dark soy sauce that is usually used for Char Kway Teow.
thyme (sarah)
I’ve seen and heard how this is a very special sandwich to the people of Vietnam. I am an ardent lover of cajun po-boys (another type of sandwich) being from Louisiana. I totally ‘get’ this yearning and craving for a delicious sandwich combination like this. I would love to try one out someday. There must be a place somewhere in this huge city of Houston.
Victoria
This sandwich looks amazingly delicious! And I’m not normally a sandwich person. But this one I would devour!
Et
can u pls advise what is sweet soy sauce. thks
Richelle Bremner via Facebook
Simply delicious… YUM, thank you :-)
Louis
This sandwich look fantastic,bravo!the presentation on a wooden plate is well thought and blend well with the bread of the sandwich… very enticing, toutes mes fĂ©licitations!
Rasa Malaysia via Facebook
Huong-Hung Nguyen Thanks for the correction, fixed. Vietnamese language is tough!
Huong-Hung Nguyen via Facebook
You spelled thit nuong wrong :)
Evi Yanty via Facebook
My fav is bahn mi thit nuong too.
Robert Hum via Facebook
The secret of banh mi is the baguette… Must be light and crunchy
Stephan Wickham via Facebook
It looks so good…
Eddie Hoos via Facebook
I make a version with mortadella….yes, but it’s really good!
Jim Washburn
I always get the one with pâtĂ© and head cheese. Sure wish I could make that bread at home. It’s 80 miles to the nearest Vietnamese market.
sara
Wonderful! This sandwich looks super delicious – love the caramelization on the pork! :)
daphne
I’m loving this marinade! Indeed a great looking humble sandwich!