Both pho and banh mi are French legacies, reflecting Vietnam's colonial history.
I have an article on the history of pho here 👈
The French baguette is the mother of the Vietnamese banh mi.
The baguette is a quintessentially French food icon, accorded world Intangible Cultural Heritage status by UNESCO in 2022.
France even passed the French Bread Law in 1993 defining what is an authentic traditional baguette - it must be made and baked on site using only wheat flour, leavening agent, water and salt. (I agree this law is a good way to safeguard the culture of independent bread bakers / boulangerie by protecting artisans and their craft from factory or "central kitchen" copies.)
Eating baked bread or more specifically baguette was introduced to Vietnam by the French when they ruled Vietnam from 1887 to 1954 (nearly 100 years).
In its most basic form, the baguette sandwich is known as jambon-beurre (literally ham butter). The French eat baguette cut open in half (butterflied), slather with butter and then slot in thin slices of cured ham.
The more elaborate versions are slathered with mayonnaise, pâté and filled with cheese, and cured items like hams, cold cuts, etc., chosen from a charcuterie board.
While the Vietnamese are fiercely independent in spirit and treasure their freedom with their lives, they are open and accepting of foreign influences provided it is of their own free will, even from the French.
The Vietnamese accepted the baguette wholeheartedly, hence we have the banh mi which simply means wheat bread.
In banh mi, we see a beautiful and delicious fusion of French and Vietnamese traditions.
I have not heard the Vietnamese denying the banh mi's French legacy, non the French accusing the Vietnamese of cultural appropriation of their unofficial national bread.
Compared to the baguette which is famed for its length, the banh mi is short and stubby, usually less than a foot long.
Baguette is made of wheat flour while banh mi is made with a blend of wheat and rice flour.
Adding rice flour was motivated by necessity - wheat flour had to be imported (hence expensive), while rice flour can be milled from cheap broken rice.
Anyway, adding rice flour to the baguette recipe made the bread lighter, crispier outside, fluffier inside, less chewy to the bite - more attuned to Vietnamese taste.
Like the French baguette, the banh mi can simply be filled with the same mayonnaise, pâté, and ham, but the Vietnamese took it much further with their own fillings.
Julienned pickled carrot, cucumber and radish are found in most banh mi.
The tangy sweetish crunchy pickles added crunch and a sourness that cuts through the fat and grease in the meaty fillings.
Generous fresh cilantro (coriander) provides the fragrance of aromatics.
Scallion add more aromatic fragrance to the sandwich.
Fiery spicy hot chili pepper find its way into many Southeast Asian dishes, including the banh mi.
Pâté is a key filling in banh mi. Rich, creamy, umami savoury, pâté is usually made with pork and / chicken liver, chicken skin, rice wine, cinnamon, lard, etc. For me, pâté is what makes banh mi especially delicious.
Actually, pâté with some pickles and cilantro is all I need in my banh mi.
But, most people want more.
There's various Vietnamese sausages.
Roast pork belly filling.
Pork roll wrapped in leaves.
Spicy stewed sardines.
Pork floss.
The possibilities are endless but I stop here. You got the idea.
Actually, one last thing. The French brought the umami savoury Maggi sauce originally from Switzerland to Vietnam. Now, many Vietnamese consider the banh mi incomplete without a dash of the umami savoury magic.
The French left Vietnam unhappily in 1956 but some of their cultural influences such as the baguette / banh mi remained stubbornly entrenched. The French bread had become an ubiquitous staple, deeply embedded in Vietnamese everyday life.
For the next twenty years till the 1975, banh mi remained a local Vietnamese thing (other former French Indochine territories also have their own versions).
After the American War ended in 1975, waves of Vietnamese refugees settled around the world.
In the USA, the Lee brothers are credited with popularising banh mi, making it widely available and accepted. In 1983, the Lee brothers opened a small banh mi stand, known as Lee's Sandwiches catering to students and office workers in San Jose, California. The budget sandwich caught on, paving the way for other banh mi stands and shops. Today, Lee's Sandwiches has over 60 outlets across USA and even overseas branches e.g. in Taipei.
Similar banh mi stories of resilience and enterprise follow the successive waves of Vietnamese diaspora in Canada, Australia, and even in Singapore.
To me, the best way to enjoy banh mi today is to sit with locals on kindergarten tables and stools at one of the ubiquitous banh mi stands on gritty pavements, anywhere in Vietnam.
What's your favourite banh mi? I like mine simple. Pickles, cilantro, and thick rich buttery pâté spread on a fluffy airy crispy banh mi, I am in seventh food heaven already.
@femme_foodie 📍Thieng Heng Vietnamese Banh Mi Sandwich Shop Paris 13ème 50 Av. d'Ivry, 75013 Paris 350.0 m One of the most well known famous banh mi shops in Paris, Thieng Heng js located prominently on Avenue d’Ivry, where the staff can be seen making piles of mouthwatering banh mi behind a large exhibition-style window. These Vietnamese sandwiches are among the best values you can find in Paris, ringing in at less than 5 euros each. An affordable option for a takeaway lunch in Paris’ 13th arrondissement. ##banhmi##paris13eme##vietnamesesandwich##foodtok##foodies ♬ Lil Boo Thang - Paul Russell
I conclude this short history with the baguette coming full circle returning to Paris as banh mi conquering French taste buds.
Read more 👉
My banh mi reviews around the world:
Written by Tony Boey on 5 Jun 2026
Who is Tony Johor Kaki?
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