Banh Mi: the more complex and historic Subway
Four dollars and 75 cents. That’s all you have left in your pocket after spending about 95% of your $100 budget on night out drinking with your friends from college and a couple of strangers. As you stumble out of the front door of the all too familiar local sports bar, you hear a loud growling rumble from your stomach yearning for some sweet yet savory food. The regret of the third “next round’s on me” is instantly replaced with a brilliant idea as you make your way towards the smell of fresh baked bread.
From the crunchy rigid texture of the baguette to the salty yet sweetness of the mayonnaise combined with the cold deli meats and pickled carrots and radish, it is safe to say that the delicious taste of a banh mi has made it increasingly popular to the American culture. Banh mi has become the alternative to a Subway sandwich when you want to add some Asian flavoring to your meal. While its deliciousness has gained popularity in the American culture, for Vietnamese Americans, taking a bite for a banh mi brings back more than just a taste of home. With the older Vietnamese American generation in the US, banh mi is a reminder of the struggles as a refugee or a piece of Vietnamese history that can’t be left behind.
The original history of banh mi tracks back all the way to French colonial Vietnam; this is where the idea of banh mi all began. The baguette is already a major indicator of the French cultural influence on Vietnam which has remain rooted in a large part of Vietnamese history. However, its popularity in Vietnam gained traction without French colonial rule after people took refuge in the South to get away from the communists in the North; banh mi was the preferred meal over the staple pho due to the hotter climate in the South.
The refugee history plays a similar role in the popularity of banh mi in the US. After the Vietnam War, Vietnamese refugees settled in refugee camps in the west coast, mainly in Los Angeles, CA; for the United States, the history of banh mi started here. As more Vietnamese people immigrated to the US as an escape from the war or to just simply start over after such devastation, banh mi was more in demand as it provided Vietnamese Americans with not only a taste of the home left behind, but also as a reminder of the country they were forced to abandon.
As the younger Vietnamese American born generation began to adopt their Vietnamese roots through banh mi, the sandwich became more widespread throughout the US. With the meal being cheaper than a $6.50 Spicy Italian Footlong at Subway and most fast-food restaurants, banh mi became the new item to buy for lunch.
With this new fame, however, comes with many Americanized versions. As opposed to the Vietnamese cold cuts, chả lụa (a Vietnamese sausage), and the authentic Vietnamese mayo butter, the banh mi that many Americans order contain no Vietnamese sausage and only regular ham and mayo. The reflection of two cultures mixing demonstrates the globalization of banh mi, yet it can be argued that this cultural mix erases the authenticity of the Vietnamese banh mi and the history it holds.
Nevertheless, banh mi holds many cultural and historical ties for the Vietnamese population in the US and its gaining popularity transcends that history beyond just its origins but to others who are keen to broaden their food horizons.
