Vietnamese Baguette - Banh Mi

"Banh mi" is made from flour mixed with water, usually by baking. There are many combinations and ratios of flours and other ingredients, and there are also different traditional recipes and methods for making bread. As a result, there are many varieties, shapes, sizes, and textures of bread in different regions. Bread can be fermented by a variety of processes, from the use of natural microorganisms to the use of artificial ventilation with high pressure during preparation or baking.

Vietnamese Baguette is one of the most delicious and popular street food in Vietname. Even "Banh mi" - (banh mi /ˈbɑːn miː/) is one of three Vietnamese words included in the Oxford dictionary data, along with "Pho" (pho /fə ː/) and "Ao Dai" - ( ao dai /ˈaʊ ˌdʌɪ/).

Origin of "Banh mi"

"Banh mi" was introduced to Vietnam, and especially to Saigon in 1859, the French colonial invasion of Gia Dinh citadel brought bread closer to the Vietnamese people. Initially, this type of food was a side dish, not the main dish. "Banh mi" is used to eat throughout the meal, not as complete as a regular meal. Gradually, "banh mi" has become one of the features of Vietnamese cuisine.

French baguette is usually 5–6 cm wide and 3–4 cm high, but up to a meter long. However, Vietnamese people have improved it to a length of only about 10-20 cm. Besides, Vietnamese baguette is also added with meat and vegetables, cucumber, cilantro, and chili to create a Southern flavor.

Admirable achievements of Vietnamese baguette

– On March 24, 2011, the word "Bread" was honored in the Oxford dictionary.

– In 2013, Vietnamese banh mi was voted by National Geographic magazine as one of the 11 best street foods in the world.

– Topped the list of 12 street foods voted by American travel magazine Conde' Nast Traveler.

– In 2014, Vietnamese bread created a fever when it entered the top 20 best street foods in the world by Huffington Post.

– In 2016, banh mi, pho and bun cha entered the top 100 world famous dishes, announced by World Records Union – Wordkings and World Top Institute.

– In 2017, Vietnamese bread was in the top 10 most attractive sandwiches in the world according to Traveler

– In 2018, the CNN site favored the name of banh mi in Hoi An as “the king of sandwiches in the world”.