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Vietnamese Banh Mi Dac Biet is typically filled with ham, pork, spread of liver pate, mayonnaise, pickled veggies,fresh veggies and herbs. It is truly an explosion of taste and flavor in one bite. It is my favorite sandwich EVER!
Vietnamese Banh Mi Dac Biet
BANH MI AND I GO ALL THE WAY BACK
I first got hooked to banh mi when I still lived in Oklahoma during my school year. I can never forget this little Vietnamese shop that is located in the almost-middle-of-the-street with a milk bottle on top of the roof. It’s a pretty distinctive way to be recognize isn’t it ? I can’t remember who brought me there for the first time. The store is really tiny and the banh mi is freshly made when you order. The best thing about this place, besides the great banh mi they have, is the price of the banh mi. You can get 3 banh mi for $5.00 (tax included). Yes…where can you get a deal like that. The banh mi is huge too and loaded with meat and all the good stuff. Geez…I’m hungry just typing it. Every time I visited the little Vietnamese town there, I always got banh mi dac biet because it’s my favorite. I might not be able to eat all 3 at one go, but I always got 3. They were selling it for $2.00 each with tax included. But this was back in the 2000 lol! I’m sure price has gone up by now 🙂
WHAT IS BANH MI DAC BIET?
Banh mi dac biet is also known as “special combination” banh mi. It is filled with combination of cold cuts like ham, pork, spread of liver pate, mayonnaise, pickled veggies,fresh veggies and herbs. It’s my favorites among all banh mi varieties
WHAT KIND OF BREAD TO USE FOR BANH MI?
Banh mi refers to bread in Vietnamese, baguette, to be exact. The Vietnamese baguette is different than the French baguette. I could never figure out why the baguette I used (French baguette) did not taste like the one they use in banh mi sandwich years ago when I just learned how to make banh mi. I later saw heaps of Vietnamese baguettes being sold at Asian grocery stores and the Vietnamese bought those baguettes for banh mi sandwich.
Vietnamese banh mi is light, airy, and the crust is thin and crumbly too. So I strongly suggest getting Vietnamese baguette if you are serious about your banh mi 😉
Unwrapping these babes is truly the second best part of all!
Eating it is, needless to say, the best thing on earth!
This Banh Mi Dac Biet recipe is adapted from Hot, Sour, Salty, Sweet cookbook by Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Duguid. I added some liver pate because I just love liver pate 🙂
Vietnamese Banh Mi Dac Biet
Ingredients
- 1 8-10 inch length Vietnamese Banh Mi
- 1 Tbsp Butter
- 1 Tbsp Mayonnaise Real Mayonnaise
- 3 slices Vietnamese salami/ham
- 3 slices Vietnamese ham/ Cha Lua I used store-bought
- 1 Tbsp Chicken Liver Pate I buy from Vietnamese Store
- 2 -3 slices of jalapeno
- Fresh cucumber seeded and julienned
- Do chua
- Fresh coriander sprigs
- Sriracha chili sauce optional
Instructions
Assembling the sandwich:
- Preheat oven to 325 and bake it for about 15 minutes to crisp up the bread. Cut the baguette horizontally into half but doesn't cut it through
- Then I open up the bread and use a spoon to scrape off some of the bread to make it kinda "hollow" for you to put in the filling
- Spread both sides of the bread lightly with butter on one side and mayonnaise on the other. Spread the liver pate on both sides.
- Lay few slices of cha que on it. Top with strips of Vietnamese ham. Top with carrot and daikon shreds, cucumber strips and a few pieces of minced chiles, if using, and coriander, spreading them along the length of the sandwich
- Close and press firmly but gently to make the sandwich hold together. Serve whole or cut crosswise in half
2 comments
I live in OKC and I love our bang mi’s!! I smiled when you mentioned “the milk bottle” I used to go there to purchase a whole roast duck!! Love that place!! Thank you for this recipe
OMG! I miss that place so much! 🙂 I remember getting 5 banh mis (because they had a deal back then) to last me a week (life of a poor college student LOL!)