Bánh mì
Crispy baguette with pickled vegetables, marinated meat, cilantro, and chili.
- Preparation
- 30 min
- Cook/bake time
- 15 min
- Total
- 1 hr 45 min
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Calories
- 1264 kcal
- Servings
- 4
- Prep
- 30 min
- Cooking & baking
- 15 min
- Resting
- 1 hr
Only 45 min of that is hands-on – the rest takes care of itself.
Crispy baguette with pickled vegetables, marinated meat, cilantro, and chili. The sandwich is the culinary legacy of the French colonial period in Vietnam and combines a European baguette with Southeast Asian flavors. The pickled carrot and radish mix is not optional but the backbone of the whole thing.
Why this works
The pickled vegetables act as an acid buffer against the fat of the meat and pâté, without which the sandwich tastes heavy. The vinegar brine draws water out of the carrot and radish via osmosis and makes them crunchy instead of soft. However, exactly this water collects in the jar, and if you pack it in, it softens the crumb from the inside. The Vietnamese baguette with rice flour in the dough also has a thinner crust and looser crumb than the French one.
Step-by-step instructions
- 1
Pickle the vegetables
Stir the rice vinegar, sugar, salt, and warm water until everything has dissolved, and add the carrot and radish matchsticks. Let them steep for at least an hour, better overnight. They should remain crunchy and at the same time be infused with sweet and sour flavors, because this acidity will later balance out the fatty meat and the mayonnaise.
- 2
Marinate the meat
Mix the fish sauce, brown sugar, garlic, soy sauce, and pepper, and thoroughly coat the thin pork slices with it. Let them marinate for at least thirty minutes. The sugar ensures that the meat caramelizes strongly when frying and gets dark, sweet and salty edges.
- 3
Fry the meat
Heat a pan or griddle until really hot and fry the meat in a single layer for two minutes per side until it has dark roasted spots. Work in batches so the pan stays hot. The marinade should caramelize, not boil away, so heat is more important than time.
- 4
Prepare the baguette
Briefly bake the baguettes at 200 °C until the crust is really crispy, and let them cool for two minutes. Cut them lengthwise without cutting all the way through, and pull out some of the soft crumb. This way more filling fits inside and the sandwich does not become spongy.
- 5
Assemble
Spread mayonnaise on both insides, which is both flavor and a moisture barrier. Then add cucumber strips, the fried meat, and generously drained pickled vegetables. Finally, put plenty of cilantro and chili rings on top. Eat immediately while the baguette still crunches.
Our best tips
- Let the pickled vegetables drain well, otherwise the baguette will get soggy from the inside.
- Pulling out some crumb creates space and prevents the sandwich from falling apart when you bite into it.
- The pickled radish keeps in the fridge for two weeks, so you might as well make a double batch.
Tasty variations
With chicken
Use chicken thigh fillets instead of pork, the marinade and preparation remain identical.
Vegetarian
Marinate firm tofu in slices and fry until crispy, served with extra pickled vegetables.
Nutrition facts
| Calories | 1264 kcal |
|---|---|
| Protein | 57 g |
| Carbohydrates | 153 g |
| – of which sugar | 40 g |
| Fat | 44 g |
| Fiber | 10 g |
Where the 1,264 kcal come from
per serving
Calculated from the ingredients – how we do it
We add up reference values for every ingredient and divide by the number of servings. These assumptions are baked in:
- Reference values per 100 g – for the raw ingredient, exactly as listed.
- Tinned goods count at drained weight, bone-in meat at purchase weight: you eat about 70 per cent of a chicken thigh and leave the rest.
- Water evaporates as you cook. The energy stays in the pot, the weight does not – so the figure is per serving, not per 100 g of finished dish.
- Anything listed without a quantity – “salt and pepper” – is not counted.
A guide value, not a lab measurement: no two onions weigh the same, and fat content varies from pack to pack.
Frequently asked questions
Which bread is right?
A light, very crispy baguette with a thin crust and airy crumb. Vietnamese Bánh mì bread contains rice flour and is even lighter, but a normal baguette works well.
Can I prepare the sandwich in advance?
All components yes, but assembling should happen shortly before eating. Once filled, the bread gets soggy within an hour.
Where can I get daikon?
In Asian markets and in many supermarkets as white radish. Kohlrabi works as a substitute, the taste is milder.
How many calories does a Bánh mì have?
A whole sandwich comes to around 724 kcal. The largest part is the baguette, the pickled vegetables are practically calorie-free. Half a bread with double the amount of vegetables is significantly lower.
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