Bánh Mì (pronounced BUN-mee) is the Vietnamese term for “bread”, but it also refers to a special kind of sandwich: a culinary fusion of two cultures and a prime example of how food is always tied with history…
The story begins in the mid-19th century when Vietnam fell under French colonial rule. The French brought their baguette with them, and the Vietnamese people began to eat their bread much like they did – typically with a platter of cold cuts, butter, cheese and/or pâté.
It wasn’t until 1954 when French rule ended that the Vietnamese people finally began to impose their own influences on the French sandwich: mayonnaise replaced butter, cilantro and fresh chillies were added for flavour, and pickled vegetables were also thrown in the mix.
