Grilled Pork Banh Mi

Luke Nguyen grew up in Australia and learned to cook at his Vietnamese parents' restaurant. He later opened his own restaurant, The Red Lantern, in Sydney. On his first visit to Saigon, he had this simple banh mi sandwich filled with peppery pork and hoisin sauce.

In Vietnam, the term "banh mi" simply means wheat bread of any kind, though it's most often associated with the Vietnamese baguette. The French introduced baguettes to the country in the 1860s at the beginning of their imperialism. At that time, imported wheat was pricey, so the bread was considered a luxury food. It wasn't until bakers started combining wheat flour with rice flour around the time of World War I that baguettes became more widely accessible.

In the 1950s, the influx of North Vietnamese migrants to South Vietnam began to change the country's food landscape. Whereas baguette sandwiches until that point had been largely based on traditional French fare, sandwiches now started to take on local flavors. Bahn mi sandwiches as we now know them were popularized in the United States in the 1980s by Vietnamese-Americans.

The cucumber and cilantro toppings called for in this banh mi sandwich recipe are standard for most varieties; some also include pickled carrots or shredded radishes. As for condiments, chile sauce is also typical, though you can also find some sandwiches spread with mayonnaise.