Ingredients

• 1/2 cup chopped cucumber, seeded if large
• 1/4 cup thinly sliced green onion
• 1/4 cup chopped carrot
• 1/2 cup rice vinegar
• 2 tablespoons mirin (Japanese rice wine)
• 1 teaspoon white sugar
• 2 pounds ground pork
• 2 tablespoons tamari sauce
• 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
• 1 teaspoon mirin (Japanese rice wine)
• 1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
• 1 tablespoon chili garlic sauce
• 1 teaspoon fish sauce
• 6 sesame seed hamburger buns
• 1 teaspoon chopped fresh basil (optional)
• 1 teaspoon chopped fresh mint (optional)

source from: allrecipes

After a scope around the city’s eateries we decided to head on down to a place a friend had mentioned was a rare treat.

So we arrived at Banh Mi Nam Son in Nguyen Thi Minh Khai in District 3 with Ostrich da dieu (ostrich meat) the order of the day. I think the attitude to have in Asia, is try anything once.

When they brought out a little tray of potato chips with some banh mi, which is a starter of sorts I suppose, I knew we were onto a winner. Next they served us two little hot trays, one with a fried egg and a delicious, tender steak.

The other I assumed was Australian beef with salad but apparently both were ostrich and melt in the mouth delicious. We also had a dish of Canadian beef which also went down well with our group, some of whom are food snobs but even they had to admit the merits of this eaterie tucked-away eaterie on the ever-busy NTMK street.

The standard dishes for this eaterie were class and hit the spot after a day at the office and the price was very reasonable with locals and visitors alike enjoying the fare on offer whilst we were there. Service was quick and if you are looking for an in and out trip for some food head along to Banh Mi Nam Son, which is located at 200 bis Nguyen Thi Minh Khai, District 3.

source from: thesaigontimes

Freshly-brewed Ronnefeldt teas and Lavazza coffee are available with either menu. The high tea menus are priced at VND280,000 per person, or VND380,000 per person with an additional flute of Taittinger Champagne.

source from: thesaigontimes

A story in Guardian’s travel section, written Richard Johnson, makes a list of the best street foods, in which Vietnam’s Banh Mi (Bread) is placed second.

The listing of the best street foods has dishes from around the world, including Daulat ki chaat (India), Phat Kaphrao (Thailand), Burek (Bosnia), Sfenj (Morocco), Walkie-talkies (South Africa), Tamales (Mexico), Red red (Ghana), and Currywurst (Germany).

Here is what Guardian says about the Vietnamese Banh Mi:

What is it? A little-known secret is that the world’s best sandwich isn’t found in Rome, Copenhagen or even New York City, but on the streets of Vietnam. It begins with a light baguette grilled over coals. After a smear of mayonnaise and a dollop of pâté, the crispy shell is filled with meat, crunchy pickled vegetables and fresh herbs. It is then typically seasoned with a few drops of soy sauce and a spicy chilli condiment.

Origin: An early example of fusion food, banh mi shows an obvious link with the French, rulers of Vietnam in the early 20th Century. Other ingredients, including xa xiu, the barbecued pork better known as char siu, have Chinese origins, while the herbs and seasonings are distinctively Southeast Asian.

Tasting: Banh mi is the epitome of street food, the sandwiches are sold almost exclusively from stalls and vendors. Seating usually takes the form of tiny plastic stools, and the sandwiches are generally served to go, wrapped in recycled paper. Pâté? Meatballs or grilled pork? Chilli? Mayonnaise? Diners choose their meats, toppings and condiments. It’s a collection of the best of Southeast Asian cuisine in a western package.

Finding it in Vietnam: If you’re in the coastal city of Hoi An, head to Phuong on Hoang Dieu, a legendary banh mistall where a sandwich costs VND15,000 (about 45p).

And in the UK: Anh and Van, two schoolfriends from Hanoi, came up with the name Banhmi11 because, in their mind, the perfect banh mi is 11 bites big. They make everything from scratch, even pickling their own daikon. They now trade in London’s Broadway market (banhmi11.com).

source from: vov

Above: The Torisoboro Ontama Don at Nippon Izakaya Cuulong. Below: The chicken and egg banh mi at Cafe Espacio. Photos: Calvin Godfrey.

A pair of Japanese chefs have solved the chicken-or-egg question.

The answer is both.

At Café Espacio, 25 year-old chef named Kensuke Ueno has managed to glorify bird and egg in a single banh mi.

Ueno’s “egg sandwich with chicken base” marries tender meat and an impossibly fluffy wad of scrambled eggs on a toasted baguette. Paying homage to the local sandwich tradition, he balanced the heavy fat factor with fresh greens and his own sweet pickle combination.

Only genius could have inspired Ueno to drizzle the thing with gooey Japanese mayonnaise and serve it with a saucer of ginger-miso sauce and a slice of lime.

“It’s addictive,” a waitress warned, before placing it down on the table. “Because of the sauce.”

Indeed. It is.

When summoned to answer for his creation, Ueno could only grin and stare at his shoes.

“My mother is a chef,” he shrugged.

Two years ago, Ueno spent a year studying Vietnamese at the Ho Chi Minh City’s University of Social Sciences and Humanity. After completing his year abroad, he returned to the southern city of Fukuoka with thoughts of sandwiches dancing in his head.

Last September, a company called Espacio Vietnam brought Ueno back to HCMC to open the small café in Nihonjinshi (literally “Japanese people town”)—the warren of restaurants, serviced apartments and offices that connect Le Thanh Ton and Thai Van Lung streets in District 1.

A receptionist at the consulate said they didn’t keep records of the number of expatriates living in the city, much less in Japanese people town. Akie Watanabe, an editor at Sketch (the local Japanese-language lifestyle magazine) estimated that there are between 7-8,000 expats in HCMC.

Nippon Izakaya Cuulong:
63 Pham Viet Chanh St., Binh Thanh Dist., Ho Chi Minh City.
Hours: Mon-Sat 17:00-22:30, Fri-Sat 11:30 a.m. -22:30 p.m., Sun Closed
Phone:(08) 3 840 9826
Café Espacio:
8A/7B1 Thai Van Lung St., Dist.1, Ho Chi Minh City
Hours: 7 a.m. -10 p.m. Every day
Phone: (08) 6 291 3626

About 300 reside in the neighborhood around Café Espacio – which, at first glance, appears like something of a hermetic getaway.

Every morning, a handful of short-sleeved businessmen begin their day with a cigarette and a “Japanese breakfast” of bacon, eggs and strong cups of Americano (VND85,000).

In the afternoon, they come in for beer and standard fare—udon, steak and sautéed chicken.

Others spread out with fresh juices and laptops to work in the quiet back booths. In the evenings they sip cocktails and glasses of Suntory whiskey.

At least once a day, however, one of these men hands over VND50,000 for one of Ueno’s inspired sandwiches. Despite repeated questioning, the chef could not offer an explanation as to exactly what made him combine chicken and egg in a single sandwich.

“I don’t know,” he said, seemingly exhausted by the question. “Maybe the flavors go together.”

Further research revealed a sandwich that is more than a century in the making.

In 1891, the wife of a 5th generation chicken and rice vendor supposedly came up with the idea of tossing the bird into an omelette.

In 1903, attendees to the 5th National Exposition to Promote Industry in Osaka were bowled over by an array of unfathomable doo-dads—the refrigerator, the air conditioner and a progenitor of the modern day water slide.

But the expo’s patrons went mad for a new entrée called Oyako Donburi (literally “parent and child rice bowl”). The meal combined the chicken and the egg along with some sautéed onions; today, it is one of the most popular working-class meals in the Japan.

Mayonnaise arrived 22 years later, in the suitcase of an industrialist named Toishiro Nakashima, who had traveled to America to study food-canning technology. Nakashima tweaked the recipe, doubling the yolks and adding MSG into mix to produce a superior item, which he hoped would help beef up the undernourished population.

He called it “Kewpie” after the popular American doll.

In 2006, Reuters reported that the average Japanese citizen consumed 1.65 kg of mayo annually. Kewpie (closer to Belgian mayo than the standard American glop) continues to dominate the Japanese mayo market and plays a key role in Ueno’s sandwich.

Those who are interested in tracing the sandwich’s origins to its roots should head up to Nippon Izakaya Cuulong in Binh Thanh District.

Tomo Harada spent six years as a cook living in Nihonjinshi before opening his an izakaya (drinking establishment) in a house in Binh Thanh District.

Harada offers two “chicken and egg” bowls. His straight Oyakodon (VND150,000) isn’t on the menu, but being a true gentleman and professional, he whipped one up anyhow.

Out came a tremendous black bowl of short grain rice smothered in an omelet studded with huge shitake mushroom caps, dark chunks of chicken and loads of green and white onions.

If that sounds good, consider the Torisoboro Ontama Don (VND110,000) which weighs in at roughly half the size.

Here, he chops it the chicken into a fine hash and serve with a soft poached egg. When the yolk bursts, the bowl transforms into a rich celebration of what may be earth’s most delicious creature.
source from: thanhniennews

Banh mi sandwiches may inspire heated debate, but some facts are incontestable. A culinary embodiment of French colonial rule in Vietnam, banh mi sandwiches are composed equally of French and Vietnamese parts. They all begin with a whole baguette, preferably baked in-house and dressed with an aioli spread infused with pork, garlic and fish sauce. These ingredients then hold a wide variety of fillings: barbecue pork, fried tofu and thick-sliced ham are the most common options, along with pork pâté, grilled chicken, meatballs, sauteed vegetables and, occasionally, whole sardines.

Ingredients are mixed and matched at the whim of the kitchen, but there’s a common denominator to all banh mi — a bright, crunchy vegetable slaw made with daikon radish, shredded carrot and fish sauce (nuoc cham), accompanied by sliced jalapeño pepper and fresh cilantro. While these sandwiches, usually found in bakeries and delis in Vietnamese neighborhoods, are endlessly customizable, they should always be inexpensive — beware the banh mi over $6.

The Pacific Northwest’s Vietnamese community is thriving, and consequentially, Seattle has dozens of excellent banh mi options. The consensus pick seems to be Saigon Deli, in the bustling International District neighborhood. A veritable indoor street market, Saigon Deli is a hot-lunch counter, bakery and dessert emporium all in one. It’s also a bit of a mess. The line quite literally goes out the door midday, and the parking situation is a disaster. But the sandwiches are second to none, especially the $3 banh mi dac biet — pork, ham and chicken liver pâté. Just down the block, Sun Bakery and Deli is less trafficked but has its share of ardent loyalists, drawn to a combo sandwich made with Chinese-style ham, grilled chicken and cucumber — and delicious egg custard for dessert.

A few hours south in Portland, Ore., 82nd Avenue (the “Avenue of Roses”) is home toBest Baguette, where top-notch banh mi is served in a reclaimed former chain restaurant. Don’t let the drive-through scare you away; the place is family owned, all the bread is baked in-house, and the banh mi thit nuong — barbecued pork and pâté – comes slathered in savory yellow garlic aioli. Try yours with a paper cup of fresh-pressed sugar cane juice.

Not that banh mi in America is strictly a Northwestern phenomenon. New Yorkers in search of a cheap lunch visit Baoguette in droves, at one of three locations — Murray Hill, Wall Street and Gramercy — for traditional Vietnamese sandwiches, as well as for a unique catfish banh mi made with honey mustard and pickled red onion. The David Chang-owned Momofuku Ssäm Bar offers a deliciously upscale take made with three kinds of offal terrines (admittedly at $10 a pop). Stroll through the small Brooklyn Chinatown in Sunset Park for several worthwhile options, including Ba Xuyen and Tan Thanh.

Some of the best Vietnamese sandwiches in America can be found in the South. In New Orleans it’s called a “Vietnamese Po Boy,” and most of the best spots can be found clustered east of Downtown on Chef Menteur Highway. Of these, the most unique experience is arguably Dong Phuong Oriental Bakery, where the banh mi seeker is shepherded around to the back of the bakery, past the brightly colored sweets and cakes, to be greeted by pork floss and chicken in a sliced baguette, made onsite and dressed with a butter-based aioli spread.

Adam EganBanh mi at Saigon Sandwich of San Francisco.

In Atlanta, a recent influx of Vietnamese immigrants has transformed the Buford Highway into a banh mi lover’s paradise: start with the sandwiches at Lee’s Bakery, prepared on a perfectly crunchy baguette and dripping with fish sauce, before moving on to the wildly popular Quoc Huong for a banh mi of red pork, marinated tofu and fried egg. Sandwiches at Quoc Huong go for around $2.50 and are consistently rated among the best in Atlanta — not surprisingly, its “buy five, get one free” program has an ardent following.

California is not to be left out. Lee’s Sandwiches, a San Jose-based chain with dozens of locations across the state, makes an exemplary banh mi xiu mai, made with Vietnamese pork meatballs. In Los Angeles, Nom Nom Truck, a brightly colored mobile eatery, has made a name for itself with grilled lemongrass chicken offerings, available in sandwich or “Vietnamese taco” form. Decidedly less bright are the surroundings at San Francisco’s Saigon Sandwich, a no-frills joint in a particularly rough stretch of the Tenderloin. Get the combo: fatty roast pork melts into creamy chicken liver pâté, buffeted by a noticeably sweet aioli and overflowing with cilantro leaves and stalks. The space at Saigon Sandwich isn’t much to look at, but the banh mi — fresh, cheap and astonishingly delicious — may be the best in America.

Disagree? Let us know your favorite banh mi spots in the comments section below.

Seattle: Saigon Deli (1237 South Jackson Street), Sun Bakery & Cafe (658 South Jackson Street)
Portland: Best Baguette (8303 SE Powell Boulevard)
New York: Baoguette (61 Lexington Ave, multiple Manhattan locations), Momofuku Ssäm Bar (207 Second Ave, Manhattan), Ba Xuyen (4222 Eighth Avenue, Brooklyn),Tan Thanh (5818 Seventh Avenue, Brooklyn)
New Orleans: Dong Phuong Oriental Bakery (14207 Chef Menteur Highway)
Atlanta: Lee’s Bakery (4005 Buford Highway NE), Quoc Huong (5150 Buford Highway NE)
San Jose: Lee’s Sandwiches (260 East Santa Clara Street)
Los Angeles: Nom Nom Truck
San Francisco: Saigon Sandwich (560 Larkin Street)

source from: nytimes

Ho Chi Minh City has been ranked among the world’s top ten cities for street foods by the US’s monthly culinary magazine Food & Wine.

“Saigon’s street foods range from the savory soup known aspho and the French colonial–influenced banh mi (pâté sandwiches on French bread) to regional southern specialties like banh xeo (stuffed pancakes),” the magazine wrote on its website foodandwine.com.

“A trip to the mega-size Ben Thanh Market could yield spring rolls, spices and a knockoff handbag.”

The other cities are Austin, Los Angeles and Chicago in America, Bangkok in Thailand, Berlin in Germany, Istanbul in Turkey, Mexico City in Mexico, Hong Kong and Marrakech in Morocco.

Published by American Express Publishing Corporation since 1978, Food & Wine features world’s recipes, cooking tips, travel information, restaurant reviews, chefs, wine pairings and holiday content.
source form: tuoitrenews

Vietnamese pickled daikon and carrots add a crunchy tang to banh mi sandwiches. These pickled daikon and carrots are also versatile and can be eaten in salads, spring rolls and even along side grilled meat/seafood dishes. The longer the pickled carrots and daikon are allowed to pickled, the more sour they become. So plan accordingly and pickle the carrots and daikon ahead of time for your menu planning.

Ingredients:

1/2 lb. carrots -shredded in food processor, sliced in thin rounds or thin match-like strips.

1/2 lb. daikon radish – cut same as carrots.

3 cups warm water

3 Tablespoons distilled or rice vinegar

2-3 tablespoons sugar, depending on how sweet you want your pickles

2 tablespoons salt

1. Mix warm water, vinegar, sugar and salt until everything is dissolved. Choose a pitcher or bowl with a lip that can be used for pouring mixture.

2. Peel, wash and cut daikon & carrots to desired size. Combine both together in bowl and blot dry with paper towel.

3. Fill carrot & daikon mixture into a tight lid jar, bowl or similar container.

4. Pour liquid salt mixture into carrot & daikon container till full. Close lid and let it pickle for about 3-5 days, or till desired sourness. For immediate use, let marinade for about 1 hour.

source form: battleofthebanhmi

source form: battleofthebanhmi

(above, Smokin’ Awesome Pulled Pork (Thit Nuong) Banh Mi)

(above, Black Pepper Pork Banh Mi)

“Limit One Per Guest, please! “

Vietnamese Banh Mi making their appearance on the feasting table !

source form: battleofthebanhmi