Vietnam Bread – A “Dusty” Guy Makes Foreigners Heartened

I was so tired after had got off work in the afternoon. In mid-April, although it rained heavily, I was not fearful of hardship to go through a long stretch of road as far as over 30 kilometers for coming back home by my motorbike. This is because it was over a week since I enjoined the watery sour soup, my mom, usually cooked for me. Going through the familiar asphalted road, I still saw Mrs. Lan’s unchanged bread kiosk imposingly standing on the sidewalk although the drizzling rain slapped my face, making my eyes burning. Suddenly, I slowed down the wheel, looked to the right of that kiosk, I saw two blonde-haired and white-skinned foreigners, they were carrying heavy backpacks (I guess they were backpackers), holding 2 loaves of bread in hand and eating deliciously. I slowed down a bit, although I lowered the throttle as low as possible, my haughty car still stubbornly rushed forward. So I only had time to admire that impressive moment in just a few seconds!

You know, when it comes to pure Vietnamese bread, people will not forget to mention its rustic, salty to the “trivial” level. The street food brings a familiar aftertaste for Vietnamese people. It is always present in all situations, from schoolgirls and boys gnawing on bread while listening to the school drumbeat for a long time to signal class, to bareback farmers enjoying rich bread in the hot sun at noon, even the old people sitting at home who eat the bread in the late afternoon while they take advantage of waiting for their children to return from the field. Hence, sometimes, it is so familiar that people forget its origin, and perhaps you are no exception!

The original of Vietnam Bread

During the historical period in 1859, when Vietnam underwent combat with French colonialists, French Baguettes were brought to Vietnam to supplement food for French soldiers. This type of bread was popularized after that and became the main dish for the French in Vietnam. Not long after, Vietnamese people also caught up with the food trend at that time and used Baguette as a complementary dish. A few years later, the trend of bread consumption increased so much that the traditional French bread-making method could not meet the needs of users. Up to now, surely a few Vietnamese will feel uncomfortable that: Why should we respond to the culinary trends of the French? In fact, you think it’s not wrong, but if you are a person who is visionary enough to look at some other positive aspect, you will find everything is marvelous. Let’s think about how Vietnamese bread has reached the world, stirred up international friends, and made culinary voting lists in world newspapers so busy. We really have to say a “Thank you” to the French for that. Fluctuating history is its nature, and what we have accumulated from history should be cherished.

Why do I say that? Because of not meeting the demand for bread at that time, the name Banh Mi Thuan Viet was born and flourished. The French method of making bread toast on charcoal or wood was no longer enough to serve consumers. Thus, the Vietnamese began to think of the method of baking bread with a blast furnace (a type of kiln made from bricks and imported from Japan). Because it is baked at a suitable temperature with a closed oven structure, so that the steam in the oven does not escape, but acts as a catalyst for the baking process, Vietnamese bread becomes spongier and softer compared to Baguette. Moreover, the bread’s crust is crispy and its size is also smaller, which fits the innovative trend of “holding and eating” of the bread. Pure Vietnamese innovative pieces of bread were born thanks to the “artistic” way of thinking of the baker at that time. They have created a precious mark for the “adventurous” journey of bread – a cake that looks “dusty” but also “noble”!

Although innovated in a compact and easier to chew style, this new type of bread was still used by people at that time to eat in the Western-style. It means that the bread was sliced ​​and served with sauce, pate, or other ingredients. But around 1958, when the first Vietnamese bread shop was born in Saigon, it was called with a strange-sounding name, Hoa Ma. This is also the time when Vietnamese bread is innovated once more. That is, instead of enjoying Western-style cakes, the owner of Hoa Ma restaurant decided to put both pate, pork, and vegetables in the middle of the cake and sandwich it. It was an incredibly creative way and shook the whole Vietnamese cuisine at that time due to the strange and unique way of eating, easy to hold and easy to carry.

After a long “excursion”, the French baguette is no longer mentioned, but instead is “Banh Mi Kep Thit” (Meat Bread) – a name so dear.

The “Prince” of the “Meat Bread”

If someone asks me what can bring out the beauty of pure Vietnamese bread, I would like to take the liberty of comparing it to a “Cinderella princess” in the fairy tales that I often hear when I was in childhood. You might think it’s fancy and unreasonable, but the comparison is well worth it. The image of the “Cinderella princess” of the “Meat Bread” popped up in my neurons at the moment I caught sight of two tall, white, and blond foreigners gnawing on a piece of bread in the pouring rain. Actually, from that impressive moment, I immediately thought of the prince of that “Cinderella princess”, who is none other than “international diners”.

The great story of Vietnam Bread

The story of Vietnamese bread reaching the world is truly a miracle. It is not simple so that that kind of delicious dish could have been caught by the “green eyes” of world journalists. Specifically, the Huffington Post newspaper voted Saigon Vietnamese bread as one of the 10 best street foods. The American Fodor travel magazine voted “Vietnamese bread” as one of 30 types of sandwiches that are worth tasting once in a lifetime. The Guardian newspaper (2012) has awarded the title of “World’s best sandwich” for the pure Vietnamese bread of Vietnamese people. Despite being so international, this rustic bread is still imbued with the love of country. Although it has been modified and innovated according to the characteristics and tastes of each diner in different countries, the aftertaste of this bread is still “soul” in Vietnam. Meat Bread – A common man – although not “original” but “complete”, although not “luxurious” but “subtle” and “noble”.

Bread menu for ones who do not know

Because of its long existence under an environment of different tastes of consumers, today’s “Meat Bread” has no longer kept the “original” as its name. It can be buttered sugar bread, bread with fish, grilled meat bread, omelet, etc. That has brought different values ​​​​for each bread. Depending on the nutritional needs, we will choose which type of bread, or eat it at the right time. Even for the “choosy” diners, choosing the accompanying vegetables is also a difficult problem. Some people like to eat it with basil, others like dill and cucumber. That’s why when you visit a certain bread shop, the seller will greet you with a very dear sentence: “Ăn bánh mì gì? Có rau, ớt không?” (What kind of bread you want to eat? Do you want to eat with vegetables and peppers?)

From Kelly with love,