How To Make Authentic Banh Mì
About this recipe
Banh mì is often hailed as the best sandwich in the world, and for good reason. This recipe focuses on making authentic bánh mì from scratch, featuring crispy homemade bread, marinated pork, and fresh toppings that create a perfect balance of flavors and textures.
In this video by Nick's Kitchen, you'll learn how to make every component of this iconic Vietnamese sandwich, from the bread to the liver pâté and pickled vegetables. It's a labor of love, but the results are undeniably worth it.
Ingredient notes
- For accuracy, consider using a scale when dividing the dough into four pieces.
Tips from Nick's Kitchen’s video
- Activate the yeast by combining it with sugar and warm water before adding the other ingredients.
- Mist the shaped dough with water before baking to achieve the iconic thin, crisp crust of the bánh mì.
- Create steam in the oven by adding boiling water to a preheated cast iron pan to help the bread rise and develop a crispy crust.
Good to know
- How long does it take to make bánh mì?
- The total time for this recipe is 3 hours and 30 minutes.
- What should I do if I don't have chicken livers for the pâté?
- The recipe specifically calls for chicken livers, but you could experiment with other types of liver if desired.
No life story here — the video and the recipe are the whole point. All credit to Nick's Kitchen: watch the original on YouTube.
The recipe
Ingredients
Steps
- 1
Combine yeast and sugar with warm water and let it activate.
- 2
Add flour, lime juice, and salt to the activated yeast mixture.
- 3
Mix with a dough hook on medium speed for about 10 minutes until the dough pulls together.
- 4
Grease a large bowl, shape the dough into a ball, and let it rise covered for 2 hours until doubled in size.
- 5
Lightly flour the work surface, shape the dough into a ball, and divide it into four even pieces.
- 6
Shape each piece into a ball, then flatten into an oval and fold the sides to create a seam.
- 7
Place the shaped dough in a baguette tray, spray with oil, and let rise for 1 hour until doubled in size.
- 8
Create slits on top of each loaf and mist with water for crust.
- 9
Add boiling water to a preheated cast iron pan in the oven to create steam, then bake the bread for 8 minutes, remove steam, and bake for another 5 minutes until golden.
- 10
For the liver pâté, soak chicken livers in milk for 2 hours, then strain.
- 11
Melt butter in a pan, add shallots and garlic, and sauté until softened.
- 12
Add the livers, cook until slightly caramelized, then deglaze with Shaoxing wine.
- 13
Blend the liver mixture with fish sauce, sugar, five spice, white pepper, salt, and softened butter until smooth. Cool and refrigerate until ready to use.
- 14
For the pork, caramelize sugar in a pot, then add pork, shallots, fish sauce, soy sauce, coconut water, and aromatics. Simmer and braise for 1.5 hours until tender.
- 15
Shred the pork with forks, keeping the skin for texture.
- 16
For pickling, shred daikon and carrot, massage with sugar and salt, then jar with water and rice wine vinegar. Refrigerate for a couple of hours.
- 17
To assemble the sandwich, cut the baguette most of the way through, spread Vietnamese mayo on the top half, and chicken liver pâté on the bottom half.
- 18
Add cucumber, caramelized pork, pickled vegetables, cilantro, and chili if desired.
Heads up — we had to guess a little:
- The quantity of chicken livers is inferred based on typical usage in pâté recipes.
Credit where it’s due: this recipe was transcribed from Nick's Kitchen’s original video on YouTube. Follow them there — it’s their dish.
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