Captain Create is in southeast Asia in the small coastal country of Viet Nam! A land of lush green jungles, terraced rice paddies, beautiful coastlines, and fresh delicious food, Vietnam has a lot of offer to travelers and curious cooks alike!
The tropical climate allows them to grow lots of fruit and vegetables, but many farmers grow rice, which is eaten at nearly every meal. The steep hills and terraced rice fields make it difficult to use machines; Most farmers still use water buffalo to plow and help them harvest their crops!
Soccer (called Bóng đá, or football ) is their favorite sport and they play it all over the country, but they also swim in both the ocean and race in swimming pools, as well as do yoga, martial arts, running, dancing, and walking to school, work, and through markets to buy food.
One of the most famous foods found in the markets in Vietnam is the Bahn Mi sandwich. What is a Banh Mi? It’s a Vietnamese sandwich made with grilled pork, or sometimes chicken, and commonly served by street vendors in markets all across Vietnam. They use French bread for this sandwich because they learned to bake baguettes when the French Government occupied Vietnam in the late 1800’s, and it was so good that they just kept baking it, even after the French rule ended.
Bánh Mì literally means “bread” in Vietnamese. Pork is commonly used in the filling and it’s called “Thịt Nuong” in Vietnamese, which just means “grilled pork.” So, if you have a Vietnamese-style grilled pork sandwich, it’s called Banh Mi Thịt Nuong.
Let’s try one! Gathering the ingredients before you start is the most important part. That way you can make the pickles and marinate the meat, then cook and build your sandwich.
INGREDIENTS FOR VIETNAMESE BANH MI
- French baguettes (you can make your own, or buy one at the bakery section of the store)
- Mayonnaise
- Marinated Pork (or chicken)
- Vietnamese pickled carrots and daikon
- Cilantro leaves
