Banh Mi (meaning: ‘wheat cake’) is one of the most popular Vietnamese foods in the world. It originated from the barguette of French people who colonized Vietnam in the 19th-20th centuries. A banh mi has pate, mayo, meats, raw vegetables, herbs, and sauces. No doubt, it’s fantastic, tasty, and a must try for tourists. It can be suitable for all meals of the day, and is sold from early morning to late night. Now let’s HoiAn Day Trip Company tell everything that you need to know about Banh Mi in Hoi An.
You may also like: Specialty Food in Hoi An, Vietnam
• Content by Tam Le, founder of HOIAN DAY TRIP CO.,LTD
• Designed by Giang Cong Minh, co-founder of LS E&C LTD and his team
• Photo by Dang Cong Loi, Dao Xuan Son, Tam Le & others
Must Knows about Hoi An Style Banh Mi
– Other name(s): Hoi An sandwich, Hoi An bread, Hoi An baguette
– Meaning: banh mi means ‘wheat cake’ or ‘bread’
– Main ingredient(s): bread or baguette, pork liver pate, mayo, meats, raw vegetables, herbs, sauces
– How to pronounce: /ban mee/
– Origin: Hoi An Ancient Town, Quang Nam province, Vietnam
– Where to find it: street vendors, eateries, markets
– Served for: breakfast, lunch, dinner, late night
– Price: from 15,000-20,000 VND/banh mi
– Foodie guide: https://hoiandaytrip.com/hoi-an-style-banh-mi
– Facts: Hoi An style banh mi is believed to be the best banh mi in Vietnam, Vietnamese banh mi is ranked first in top 100 most delicious sandwiches of the world by Taste Atlas in 2024
– Similar dishes: num pang (Cambodia), khao jee pate (Laos)
History of Banh Mi in Vietnam
The baguette was introduced into Vietnam by French people during colonial time, and lasted from the 1880s to 1945. Banh Mi in Vietnamese language means ‘wheat cake’. During this period, wheat flour was expensive because it must be imported, and sure, it’s only used in kitchens of French or rich, high-class people. Vietnamese bakers who worked for them, steadily learnt how to use it to make bread skilfully.
After French withdrawals in 1945 (the first World War), people mixed rice flour and wheat flour to make breads, in order to reduce the amount of wheat flour and by that, reduce the cost. Therefore, Vietnamese bread is shorter, lighter, and has a thin, crispy crust. Since this moment, bread gradually has become a popular food. People from all classes and levels of wealth can buy and eat it.
Until the 1950s, Vietnamese banh mi was still closed to French tastes, with filling as ham, mayonnaise, and liver pate.
In Hoi An local cuisine, besides banh mi, the bread is also used in several dishes, especially soups. Local people often use their hands to shred it and then dip it into the soup to eat. One of them is Hoi An style beef curry (ca ri bo), known for a bowl of stewed beef soup with root vegetable chops and bread. In the case of thick noodle soup (banh canh), people can be fuller if getting one extra loaf of bread and reuse the remaining soup to eat with it. By that, they don’t have to order another bowl (that may be too much food for them). Likewise, locals also break crispy sesame rice papers into small pieces and then dip them into the broth of Mi Quang noodles.
Ingredients of Hoi An Style Banh Mi
The Bread
The Pate
Banh Mi sandwich can not exclude pate (a forcemeat). Yes, it’s a must. Like the bread itself, this ingredient is also introduced by French people. After the colonial period, Vietnamese people had some changes and incorporated it.
Pate is often homemade, and each banh mi store has its own recipe (to serve its own customers). To make pate like Vietnamese people, it’s needed to use pig’s liver, pork rind, pork belly, fresh no-sugar milk, wheat, egg, bread, soy sauce/fish sauce, sugar, pepper,… Firstly, pork’s liver is washed carefully by tap water, and then soaked into fresh no-sugar milk, for 20-30 mins, to eliminate toxins inside the liver. Pork rind is washed, and sliced into small strips. The bread is crushed, and then breadcrumbs are soaked into fresh no-sugar milk for 2 mins. After that, the liver is taken out from the milk, washed again, sliced and stir-fried on the pan, with minced purple shallots, eggs, and spices. When liver slices become cooked, put all bread scrums into the pan, and stir fry for 2-3 minutes. Next step, put the stir-fried mixture into the grinder, grind it well, and then steam the paste for 1 hour.
Vegetarian banh mi sandwich has the pate made by mushrooms, tofu, soy sauce, spices and other vegetables.
The Mayo
Meats
Almost all meats can be used to make a banh mi sandwich. The most popular meat is pork belly that will be bought at local markets, marinated, and cooked in different ways. Local people in central Vietnam often make thit xa xiu or thit xiu (char siu pork). In Da Nang and Hue cities, after washing the pork piece, it will be sliced thinly and marinated by fish sauce, sugar, sesame, lemongrass, pepper, and other spices. In Hoi An city, the whole pork piece is kept, and the marination recipe is the same. If slice the pork, it can be more flavourful. However, to adapt to the heat, humidity, culture of different nationalities, and the rainy season, Hoi An’s locals like keeping the whole piece of pork, and just slice when want to eat.
Vegetables & Herbs
Vegetables and herbs used to make a banh mi sandwich are diverse. Which kinds of veggies visitors will see, depend on local weather conditions and culture of each city. In central Vietnam, popular ones are peppermint (rau ram), mint (bac ha), cucumber (dua leo), spring onion (spring onion), sweet basil leaf (la hung que), coriander leaf (rau ngo), lettuce, and pickles (daikon, carrot, cabbage).
In Hoi An, herbs for Banh Mi come from Tra Que Vegetable Village. These leaves are tiny, rich in flavours, and free from chemicals or preservatives.
Sauces
The most popular sauce used for banh mi sandwiches in Da Nang, Hoi An and Hue, is nuoc thit xiu or the sauce left after cooking the char siu pork. This sauce is savoury, containing different spices. Soy sauce (nuoc tuong, xi dau) is used for vegetarian sandwiches.
Mayo is another popular sauce. It’s made of egg yolk only, sugar, salt, lime, and oil. This thick yellow sauce enhances the taste of banh mi sandwich thanks to its creamy flavour.
Those who like spicy foods, can see chilli sauce (tuong ot) or ground fresh chilli paste. Sometimes, banh mi sandwich makers use a knife to chop fresh chillies and then fill into the bread (popularly for banh mi heo quay or roasted pork sandwich). Hoi An has its own chilli sauce that is made with fresh chillies, tomato, and spices. Its taste is less spicy than other chilli sauces, and more delicious. See more information & details
How to Make a Hoi An Style Banh Mi?
Types & Variations of Banh Mi in Hoi An
To call a type of banh mi sandwich, Vietnamese people will combine ‘banh mi’ with the main meat(s). For example, a chicken sandwich is called ‘banh mi ga’ (ga means chicken). Because pork is most popular, so if visitors call a ‘meat sandwich’, the one people make will be a sandwich with pork. It’s not wrong to think that the traditional banh mi is ‘banh mi with pork’.
These are popular types of banh mi sandwich:
– banh mi thit: bread, pork liver pate, char siu pork, raw vegetables, herbs, sauces
– banh mi thit nuong: bread, pork liver pate, grilled pork, raw vegetables, herbs, sauces
– banh mi heo quay: bread, pork liver pate, roasted pork, raw vegetables, herbs, sauces
– banh mi cha: bread, pork liver pate, common steamed pork sausage (or Hue style pork sausage in banana leaf), raw vegetables, herbs, sauces
In Hoi An, there is another type of food called ‘banh mi cha’ (but not made by steamed pork sausage). It’s a piece of bread, often a quarter of one bread, topped with uncooked pork sausage paste and then fried in hot peanut oil. This snack is rarely found at local restaurants and sold by vendors in markets.
– banh mi thit cha: bread, pork liver pate, char siu pork, steamed pork sausage, raw vegetables, herbs, sauces
– banh mi trung: bread, pork liver pate, fried egg, raw vegetables, herbs, sauces
– banh mi chay (vegetarian sandwich): tofu, mush room, raw vegetables, herbs, sauces
– banh mi thap cam (mixed sandwich)
These are local style banh mi sandwich:
– banh mi bot loc: bread, tapioca dumplings (pork, shrimp filling), raw vegetables, herbs, sauces
– banh mi xoi: bread, sticky rice, char siu pork, steamed pork sausage, sauces
– banh mi ca: bread, pork liver pate, canned fish or caramelized dried fish, raw vegetables, herbs, sauces
– banh mi xiu mai (‘meatball banh mi’): bread, pork liver pate, meat balls, raw vegetables, herbs, sauces
– banh mi que or ‘stick bread’: bread, pork liver pate, meat floss, raw vegetables, herbs, sauces
Best Places to Eat Banh Mi in Hoi An
Hoi An Old Town has the best places to eat Banh mi in Hoi An; These are famous banh mi shops in this area:
– Madam Khanh ‘Banh Mi Queen’, a famous family-run restaurant at 115 Tran Cao Van St
– Banh Mi Phuong, a famous family-sun restaurant at 2B Phan Chu Trinh St or Hoi An Central Market (Tieu La St)
– Banh Mi Sum, a family-run store with seatings at 149 Tran Hung Dao St
– Phi Banh Mi, a family-run store with seatings at 88 Thai Phien St
– Banh Mi Sai Gon, a family-run store with seatings at 151 Tran Hung Dao St
– Banh Mi Co Lanh (Ms Lanh), a street stall at Tran Nhan Tong – Cua Dai crossroad
– Banh Mi Co Hoi (Ms Hoi), a street stall on Nguyen Hue street (near the Hoi An Central Market) that sells vegetarian/vegan sandwiches at a cheap price. The owner believes in Buddhism and karma, so she wants to not kill animals and save the lives in the world.
Price of a banh mi in Hoi An is between 15,000 and 50,000 VND, depending on places (local or tourist) and number of meat fillings (for example, mixed is more expensive. Thus, it’s not only delicious, but also very cheap. When eating banh mi, a drink may be needed (because it’s quite dry).
Quick Questions & Answers about Banh Mi
– Is banh mi gluten free? Answer: Yes, banh mi is gluten free.
– is banh mi spicy? Answer: People often don’t add chilli or spicy sauces into a banh mi. However, visitors should request ‘no spicy’ when ordering.
– Is banh mi the world’s best sandwich? Answer: Yes, in 2024, it’s ranked first in 100 of the most delicious sandwiches in the world by Taste Atlas.
– What does banh mi usually have? Answer: Bread, pork, pork liver pate, egg mayo, sliced cucumber, herbs, pickled vegetables, sauces
– Is banh mi served hot or cold? Answer: Banh mi is more tasty if served hot.
– Does banh mi have peanuts? Answer: Hoi An style banh mi has crushed roasted peanuts as a filling, but is easy to remove upon request. Other ingredients don’t have peanuts.
– Is banh mi a breakfast food? Answer: yes
– Is banh mi safe to eat in Vietnam? Answer: sure, banh mi is safe to eat in Vietnam. It’s one of must try dish.
– Is banh mi halal? Answer: Halal visitors can eat vegetarian banh mi.
– Is banh mi Vietnamese? Answer: Banh mi is a Vietnamese food, not Thai or French or Chinese.
Better to Know about Eating Local in Hoi An
– Local family-run restaurants always serve better local foods than tourist restaurants. Places inside small alleyways potentially are hidden gems. The price is even more affordable at these lesser known spots.
– Restaurants where you can see a queue or crowds, food or drinks there are absolutely better or safer than others. Vietnamese people also avoid places without people eating, such as roadside eateries.
– Hot foods are often safe to eat for non-Vietnamese people. Refuse cold food (especially ones sold on the street, markets) or things you don’t see people cooking.
– Make sure that you learn some basic Vietnamese words or sentences to order foods, such as xin chao (hello, hi), cho toi mot (something) (I want one…), toi an chay (I am vegetarian), khong cay (no spicy), cam on (thank you), tam biet (goodbye) or numbers (mot/one, hai/two, ba/three, bon/four, nam/five, sau/six, bay/seven, tam/eight, chin/nine, and muoi/ten).
– Ask any local people you know (tour guide, driver, hotel receptionists, bellmen, etc) to receive their recommendation for good places to eat local.
– Raw vegetables are popularly used in local dishes, such as noodles or noodle soup or sandwich. They are often washed by tap water or unwashed. If can not drink tap water, remove or refuse them. Likewise, in most iced drinks (such as coffee or herbal tea), people add ice made by tap water also.
– On the 1st day and 14th-15th days of each lunar month, Hoi An citizens eat vegetarians. Many local restaurants and street businesses will be closed by that.
– If you don’t eat pork or beef, due to diet or religious restrictions, be careful when want to try local food here, if don’t see the ingredient description. Pork and beef are very popular meats, so they will be in numerous dishes. Street vendors may say ‘no pork’ or ‘no beef’ for better business, but please check before buying!
– Consider joining a food tour guided by locals who know much better about dishes in the city, including things never mentioned in guidebooks or on the internet.
– If have an allergy (milk, egg, peanut, wheat,…), ask anybody you know before trying or search for ingredients on the internet. By the way, fish sauce is popularly used to marinate Vietnamese foods, so make sure that you know this information if you’re fish allergic.
– Food portion (or size) here is often not really big (locals prefer eating with their family at home). You may try double or some different dishes for main meals.
– If don’t see the price on the menu, please ask in advance to avoid overcharging, especially when you are not a local. In Vietnamese, how much is bao nhieu.
– Most popular cutleries are chopsticks and spoons. To know how to use it, browse here
