Banh Mi (Vietnamese Sandwich)
by Sommer Collier — last updated on Feb 10, 2025 
Banh Mi Sandwich Recipe (Vietnamese Sandwich): One of the world’s most vibrant and delicious sandwiches! This sammie is loaded with fresh vegetables and grilled meat and piled high on a French baguette. If you’ve never tried a Banh Mi Sandwich… It’s time.
Vietnamese Street Food
Street food is a weakness of mine. When I travel anywhere, it’s the first thing I look for. You can often get a real sense of a country’s (or city’s) culinary clout by what you purchase from a rickety cart on a bustling corner.
In some way, such workman-meals give away a culture’s deeper secrets. What can the average cart-pushing cook whip up on the sidewalk? What does that say about a people group’s creativity, ingenuity, and zest for life?
You can learn a lot about people by what and how they cook, if you pay attention.
Some of the best meals of my life have come from street carts. Of course, these were not the most elegant and artful meals I’ve ever eaten. They lacked trendy ingredients, pristine plating, and a lavish environment to enjoy them.
Yet, as for pure flavor and memorability, street food rules in my book!
I ate several meals more than two decades ago that are still so fresh in my mind; I can taste their distinct flavors from memory. Some are so unique; that I may never be able to recreate them quite right.
Banh Mi Sandwich
Vietnamese is my all-out favorite regional cuisine. Fresh, funky, full-bodied, and fragrant. I think the Vietnamese hold the eastern market on flavor and appeal.
As for street food, Vietnam offers a thrilling array of choices. Salad bowls, soups, chicken wings, and spring rolls are all sold curbside to hungry passers. Yet above all these, reigns the Vietnamese Banh Mi Sandwich.
Banh Mi is the term for a Vietnamese baguette made with a combination of wheat and rice flour.
A Vietnamese Banh Mi Sandwich is stuffed with marinated meats, cucumbers, herbs, and pickled veggies. Most Banh Mi sandwiches are also spread with pate’. The bread and pate’ are no surprise to historians, as Vietnam was a French colony in the 1800s.
The marinated meats and the pickled veggies are the standout items on this Vietnamese sandwich. The chicken is soaked in a fish sauce and lime juice marinade in my version of the Vietnamese Banh Mi Sandwiches.
Banh Mi Recipe Ingredients
For the Chicken:
- Fish Sauce – Don’t be tempted to skip the fish sauce. It is a vital part of Vietnamese cooking. My suggestion with fish sauce is, hold your nose while pouring. The heinous odor will diminish once cooked, leaving a remarkable flavor.
- Fresh Lime Juice
- Granulated Sugar
- Cloves Garlic – minced
- Jalapeno
- Salt
- Chicken Breasts – Boneless and skinless
For the Pickled Veggies:
- Hot Tap Water
- Rice Vinegar
- Sugar
- Salt
- Crushed Red Pepper
- Carrots – sliced thin on the bias
- Daikon Radishes – sliced thin on the bias
For the Sandwiches:
- Soft Sub Rolls
- Mayo
- Cucumber – sliced thin
- Cilantro Leaves – or even mint will work instead
- Sliced Jalapeno – for extra heat (this is an optional ingredient)
I left the paté off my Banh Mi sandwiches and added a little mayonnaise. I feel the mayo offers a smooth, creamy base and doesn’t distract from the star ingredients!
How To Make A Vietnamese Sandwich
- Make the chicken: In a baking dish, mix the fish sauce, lime juice, sugar, garlic, jalapeno and salt. Add the chicken breasts to the dish, cover, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. Longer is better!
- Make the pickled vegetables: Stir the hot tap water and sugar in a medium bowl, until the sugar dissolves. Add the vinegar, salt, crushed red pepper, sliced carrots and radishes. Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
- Heat the grill to medium and Grill the Chicken. Grill the chicken breasts for 5 minutes per side. Remove from heat and cover the chicken with foil to rest for 5 minutes. Open the sub rolls and grill the insides for about 1-3 minutes—until toasted.
- Drain the pickled veggies. Slice the chicken into thin pieces.
- Build the sandwiches. Spread mayo over in the sub rolls. Layer the cucumber slices, chicken, pickled veggies, cilantro leaves, and jalapeños on the rolls. Serve immediately!
Grilling the marinated chicken creates a caramelized crust with a juicy interior. For those without access to a grill, you could definitely broil the chicken for a similar effect.
However, I suggest investing in an iron grill pan. A good grill pan will produce wonderful grill marks, plus the fat and juices run away from the meat just like on an outdoor grill!
A Banh Mi Sandwich is always a big hit any time I make it, just like many Vietnamese restaurants. Give it a try!
Get the Complete Printable Banh Mi Recipe (Vietnamese Sandwich). Enjoy!
Frequently Asked Questions
How Long Do The Banh Mi Leftovers Last?
If stored in an airtight container, the meat can last for up to a week. If you do not want to use the leftovers in sandwiches, you can make a Banh Mi Rice Bowl, stuff them into spring rolls, or even serve them over a salad.
Can I Use Other Meats?
Yes, you can use other meat variations. This recipe will also taste great with pork loin instead of chicken, or thinly sliced beef or ham. For meat-free protein, you can even incorporate hard-boiled egg slices, or tofu if desired.
What Is The Sauce On A Banh Mi?
The traditional spread on a Vietnamese sandwich is usually liver pate. Pate is a silky paste made from chicken, duck, or pork liver. In our recipe, we have omitted the pate because it can be challenging to find or make, and is a bit polarizing to some people. We feel the mayonnaise and pickled vegetables add plenty of flavor, without the pate. However, if you want to spread pate on the grilled bread, go for it!
Other Great Vietnamese Recipes
- Vietnamese Banh Mi Salad Recipe
- Vietnamese Banh Mi Street Tacos Recipe
- Bánh Xèo Recipe (Vietnamese Crepes) Recipe
- Vietnamese Bun Cha Gio Recipe
- Vietnamese Chicken Salad Recipe (Goi Ga)
- Vietnamese Fresh Spring Roll Bowls Recipe
- Low Carb Vietnamese Pho Soup Recipe
- Vietnamese Chicken Pho Soup with Zoodles Recipe
- Vietnamese Egg Coffee
- Pickled Carrots by The Daring Gourmet
Banh Mi Sandwich Recipe
Video
Ingredients
For the Chicken:
- 1/2 cup fish sauce
- 1/2 cup fresh lime juice
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 3-4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 chopped jalapeno
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 1 1/4 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts (3-4 breasts)
For the Pickled Veggies:
- 1/2 cup hot tap water
- 1/4 cup cup rice vinegar
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
- 2 carrots, sliced thin on the bias
- 2 daikon radishes, sliced thin on the bias
For the Sandwiches:
- 6 soft sub rolls
- 1/3 cup mayo
- 1/2 cucumber, sliced thin
- 1 cup cilantro leaves, or mint
- 1 sliced jalapeno for extra heat (optional)
Instructions
- For the chicken: In a baking dish, mix the fish sauce, lime juice sugar, garlic, jalapeno and salt. Add the chicken breasts to the dish, cover, and refrigerate at least 1 hour. Longer is better!
- For the pickled vegetables: Stir the hot tap water and sugar in a medium bowl, until the sugar dissolves. Add the vinegar, salt, crushed red pepper, sliced carrots and radishes. Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
- Heat the grill to medium. Grill the chicken breasts for 5 minutes per side. Remove from heat and cover the chicken with foil to rest for 5 minutes. Open the sub rolls and grill the insides for about 1-3 minute—until toasted.
- Drain the pickled veggies. Slice the chicken into thin pieces.
- Spread mayo over in the sub rolls. Layer the cucumbers, chicken, pickled veggies, cilantro leaves and jalapeños in the rolls. Serve immediately!
This looks so, so good! It's been so long since I've been to a big city and bought food on the street. Totally adding it to my to-do list :) Thanks for sharing!
I completely agree with you that street food is the best. I love the flavors of your sandwiches. So many things going on in your mouth at once. YUM!
Sorry spelling issues! I love your sandwich, I would like to try one of these!
The sandwich looks great!
Have you ever tried the 3 crabs brand fish sauce? It is the ONLY brand I use because it is very mild and does not smell very fishy. :)
http://www.delicateflavors.com/?page_id=1019
I am sooooooo with you about street food being the best best food ever. I may have to slightly disagree with you…Malaysian street food is the bomb diggity. However, once I try your banh mi, I might sing a different tune!
That looks really tasty. I like the idea of an authentic Asian style sandwich.
Looks fantastic. I love banh mi. it is pretty cheap around here so i just buy it.
Sorry if this becomes a double post – my first comment vanished!
Anyway I just wanted to say this is absolutely gorgeous and driving me to distraction! Fish sauce is a necessary evil – but you sure got a handle on it ;)
That looks super yummy!
delicious! used to get these from little saigon for $2 a pop. I absolutely hate the smell of fish sauce, but I know I have to use it. Gah. The shrimp marinade I've created in my head to make my spring rolls tomorrow is similar to yours! Now I know it won't taste bad!
I have never had one of those sandwiches but I love all of the ingredients and so would my family. Fish Sauce has its bad smell but is just necessary to Thai and Vietnamese food.
Thanks, Sommer, for sharing Banh Mi.
OH last time I had one of those was in Paris in their Chinatown! so a long time ago…I loved those, soooooo good! Thanks for the recipe! You're right you cannot skip the fish sauce even if it smells bad, some things smells bad and taste good, so this is one of those ingredients! beautiful sandwiches.