# Banh Mi

> The Hoi An-style banh mi: a thin, crackling-crust baguette packed with pork, pate, pickled carrot and daikon, cucumber, cilantro, and chili for a sandwich that hits fat, acid, crunch, and heat in every bite.

- Source: https://clevertourists.com/recipes/banh-mi
- Authors: Evan & Clara, Clever Tourists (first-hand, from years of travel across 20 countries)
- Published: 2026-07-16
- Cuisine: Vietnamese
- Servings: 4
- Total time: 35 min

## About this dish

Hoi An built its reputation on this sandwich long before the lantern-lit Old Town made it a tourist stop. The formula sounds simple -- a split baguette, some pork, a few pickles -- but the ratio is the whole game: a thin, crackling-crust baguette, lighter and airier than a French one, a holdover from colonial-era bakers adapting to Vietnamese wheat and humidity, holds pork two or three ways, a smear of pate and mayo, quick-pickled carrot and daikon, cucumber, cilantro, and a few slices of chili, so every bite has fat, acid, crunch, and heat at once. At the busiest stalls in town, the line moves fast because they've been building this same sandwich for decades -- the version below is our attempt at that stall-standard bite at home.

## Ingredients

- 4 Vietnamese-style baguettes (or small French baguettes), split lengthwise
- 1 lb pork shoulder, thinly sliced
- 2 tbsp fish sauce
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- 4 oz pork pate (store-bought or homemade)
- 1/4 cup Vietnamese-style mayonnaise
- 1 large carrot, julienned
- 1 small daikon radish, julienned
- 1/4 cup rice vinegar, for pickling
- 2 tbsp sugar, for pickling
- 1/2 tsp salt, for pickling
- 1/2 cucumber, thinly sliced lengthwise
- Fresh cilantro sprigs
- 1-2 fresh red chilies, thinly sliced
- Maggi seasoning or soy sauce, to taste
- Black pepper, to taste

## Method

1. Quick-pickle the carrot and daikon: combine with the rice vinegar, sugar, and salt in a bowl, toss, and let sit at least 20 minutes while you prep everything else.

2. Marinate the pork slices in fish sauce, soy sauce, sugar, and garlic for at least 15 minutes.

3. Heat the oil in a skillet over medium-high heat and cook the pork until browned and just cooked through, 3-4 minutes per side.

4. Warm the baguettes briefly in the oven to crisp the crust, then split open.

5. Spread pate and mayonnaise on the inside of each baguette.

6. Layer in the cooked pork, pickled carrot and daikon, cucumber, cilantro, and chili slices.

7. Finish with a few drops of Maggi seasoning or soy sauce and a crack of black pepper. Serve immediately.

## Notes

- The bread matters as much as the filling -- look for a baguette with a thin, light crust and airy crumb; a dense, chewy French baguette will fight the fillings instead of getting out of their way.
- Don't skip the pickle step or shorten it too much -- the vinegar bite is what keeps the sandwich from tasting heavy.
- Pate is traditional, but if you can't find it, the sandwich still works with just the pork and mayo -- it'll just be a lighter version.