SAIGON | Bánh mì is one of the most well known dishes of Vietnam. The delicious filled Vietnamese baguette can be found all over the world, but there’s nothing quite like enjoying one on the streets of Vietnam with a local guide who knows the cuisine so well.
INTRODUCTION
DEFINITION | In Vietnamese, the word bánh mì is derived from bánh (which can refer to many kinds of food, primarily baked goods, including bread) and mì (wheat). It may also be spelled bánh mỳ in northern Vietnam. Taken alone, bánh mì means any kind of bread, but it could refer to the Vietnamese baguette, or the sandwich made from it.
To distinguish the un-filled bread from the sandwich with fillings, the term bánh mì không (“plain bread”) can be used. To distinguish Vietnamese-style bread from other kinds of bread, the term bánh mì Sài Gòn (“Saigon-style bread”) or bánh mì Việt Nam (“Vietnam-style bread”) can be used.
The French introduced Vietnam to the baguette, along with other baked goods such as pâté chaud, in the 1860s, at the start of their imperialism in Vietnam. Due to the price of imported wheat at the time, French baguettes and sandwiches were considered a luxury.
During World War I, an influx of French soldiers and supplies arrived. At the same time, disruptions of wheat imports led bakers to begin mixing in inexpensive rice flour (which also made the bread fluffier). As a result, it became possible for ordinary Vietnamese to enjoy French staples such as bread. Many shops baked twice a day, because bread tends to go stale quickly in the hot, humid climate of Vietnam. Baguettes were mainly eaten for breakfast with some butter and sugar.
The 1954 Partition of Vietnam sent over a million migrants from North Vietnam to South Vietnam, transforming Saigon’s local cuisine. Among the migrants were Lê Minh Ngọc and Nguyễn Thị Tịnh, who opened a small bakery named Hòa Mã in District 3.
In 1958, Hòa Mã became one of the first shops to sell bánh mì thịt. Around this time, another migrant from the North began selling chả sandwiches from a basket on a mobylette, and a stand in Gia Định Province (present-day Phú Nhuận District) began selling phá lấu sandwiches. Some shops stuffed sandwiches with inexpensive Cheddar cheese, which came from French food aid that migrants from the North had rejected.
The exact story of who invented bánh mì as we know it today is, as is usually the case with these things, disputed. What’s not in dispute is that Lê Minh Ngọc and Nguyễn Thị Tịnh were one of the first. Still in the same spot, run by three generations of the family, Bánh Mì Hòa Mã, remains one of the best places for bánh mì in Ho Chi Minh City. They were the first people to put the ingredients inside the bread so the customers could take it with them. This was long before plastic and styrofoam made everything portable. The bánh mì sandwich revolutionized dining in Saigon — perfect for the hustle of life in the modern world.
One of the signature features of Banh Mi Hoa Ma is their deconstructed banh mi. There’s just something magical about that perfect combination of a crispy exterior and a soft, fluffy interior that takes banh mi to new heights of deliciousness.
And let’s not forget about the sauce! The folks at Banh Mi Hoa Ma have mastered the art of sauce creation. They have a range of sauces like spicy mayo, tangy fish sauce, and creamy pate, all of which add that extra punch of flavor to make your taste buds dance!
And the best part? The prices at Banh Mi Hoa Ma are wallet-friendly, so you can enjoy these scrumptious banh mi sandwiches without a worry.
