Listed among top 10 best street foods around the world by the National Geographic magazine, 5 unbelievable sandwiches from around the world voted by Huffingtonpost.com, written by numerous magazines, that is the Vietnamese Banh Mi or Vietnamese bread. It is available in the US for years and people love it. It is described as a Vietnamese snack consisting of baguette bread filled with meat, vegetables, and chili. “Banh Mi” officially became an English word in Oxford dictionary on March 24, 2011. “Banh Mi” has now helped Vietnamese cuisine become a permanent position to the world culinary map.
In each region, Banh Mi has different flavors. Let’s learn about some types of famous Vietnamese Banh Mi from North to South and see which one is the best for you!
In Hanoi
Thanks to 4-seasons weather, bread is modified into many types in Hanoi. It’s impossible to forget their flavors once visiting Vietnam’s Capital City.
Fried potato and nem chua are main ingredients that make bread in Hanoi particular.
Banh mi Chao (pan bread) is an evidence for the particularity of Hanoi bread. Once ordering, the seller will give you a set served in an iron pan with egg, pate, and meat which are still hot.
In Hai Phong
The Hai Phong spicy bread is one of the most popular and famous in Vietnam. It is small, long, crispy with pate and particular spicy-delicious taste.
In Hoi An
Visiting Hoi An, surely you cannot bypass the famous Phuong Bread. Vegetables, sauce, and exterior create their particularity. The gourmet will realize that its exterior is a little harder than bread in Saigon and Hanoi that help Phuong Bread not to be too soft when used with its 3 special sauces. Additionally, it attracts visitors by the unique herb grown in Hoi An only.
In Da Lat
Put in a small bowl, each "xiu mai" ingredient is full of soup, xiu mai ball, pig’s skin, cha que, and some onion. Once enjoying, you will feel the spicy taste of chili, the sweetness of bones in broth with hot bread. It’s amazing for quite cold weather in Da Lat. If you happen to visit Da Lat, don’t miss this bread.
In Nha Trang
Compared with original Saigon Bread, Nha Trang Bread is famous for the hollow interior, crispy exterior without butter. So, it is never boring whatever you enjoy with milk or not. Cha ca Bread is the most famous in Nha Trang. Cha ca is made from marinated and sliced meat of mackerel or basa and then fried until turning yellow. When it is combined with vegetables and put into bread, you will have a very tasty meal.
Thanks to particular thinness and crispness, Nha Trang Bread is completely suitable to enjoy with sauces: stew beef and cow.
In Ho Chi Minh City
Originated from French Baguette Bread, Vietnamese bread is modified to be shorter with a crispier exterior and less condensed interior in order to make it fit for the dining habit of the Vietnamese. Just need to add some meats and vegetables into, you immediately have a Saigon Bread, one of the most popular one in Vietnam.
The traditional bread with meat (looking like a hamburger), which is added with butter, oil, pate, ham, cucumber, and herb, is always considered as the most delicious bread in Vietnam.
People in Ho Chi Minh City (former name: Saigon) usually have breakfast with a special bread named banh mi bi (bread with pig’s skin) but it’s not the same at every stall. The special sauce is made from fish sauce, onion and organic, which creates the unique impression of this Vietnamese bread.