History

Vietnamese refugees built Houston's Bellaire Boulevard (Asiatown) from 1975 onward; the city's Vietnamese population is now over 100,000, second-largest in the United States after Orange County. Cali Sandwich and Roi Bien on Milam established the Houston bánh mì style; Les Givral's Kahve and Pho Binh have followed. The Houston version uses a softer, lighter Vietnamese baguette than the Saigon original, suited to American flour.

Common allergens: Gluten, Egg, Dairy, Soy

Make it at home

Yield 4Hands-on 30 minTotal 2 hr 30 minDifficulty Intermediate

Ingredients

  • 4 Vietnamese-style baguettes (light, airy crumb; or substitute light French baguettes)
  • 8 tbsp Kewpie mayonnaise
  • 200g pork pâté (chicken-liver mousse pâté works as substitute)
  • 300g cha lua (Vietnamese pork roll), thinly sliced; or substitute mortadella
  • 200g sliced grilled pork (marinated in lemongrass, garlic, fish sauce, sugar; grilled 6 minutes)
  • For the pickle (đồ chua): 1 large daikon and 2 large carrots cut into matchsticks
  • 100ml rice vinegar
  • 100ml water
  • 50g sugar
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 cucumber, sliced into long thin strips
  • 1 large bunch fresh cilantro (coriander), with stems
  • 2 jalapeños, sliced into thin rings
  • Maggi seasoning sauce or light soy sauce
  • Cracked black pepper

Method

  1. Make the pickle: combine vinegar, water, sugar, and salt in a jar, stir to dissolve. Add daikon and carrot matchsticks. Refrigerate 2 hours minimum; this is the foundation of bánh mì flavour.
  2. Marinate sliced pork in 2 tbsp fish sauce, 1 tbsp sugar, 2 crushed garlic cloves, 1 finely chopped lemongrass stalk, 1 tsp black pepper. Grill or sear in a hot pan for 6 minutes total, charred at the edges.
  3. Warm the baguettes in a 200C oven for 4 minutes until the crust crisps but the inside stays soft.
  4. Split each baguette lengthwise, leaving a hinge.
  5. Spread the bottom half generously with mayonnaise, then a thick smear of pâté along the cut surface.
  6. Layer cha lua slices, then grilled pork on top.
  7. Drain pickled daikon-carrot, squeeze gently dry, and pile a generous heap on the meat.
  8. Top with cucumber strips, a thick bouquet of cilantro stems and leaves, jalapeño rings.
  9. Splash 3 to 5 drops of Maggi sauce across the fillings, crack black pepper. Close the sandwich and press firmly. Eat immediately.

Tip from the editors. Maggi sauce is non-negotiable for Houston bánh mì; without those 3 drops the sandwich tastes generic-Western. Asian groceries sell the small brown bottle.

Where to eat houston bánh mì

Houston Bánh Mì in Houston

Cali Sandwich & Pho ★ 4.5

Vietnamese$

Cali Sandwich & Pho in Houston is the Midtown Vietnamese counter on Travis Street, with a $5 BBQ pork banh mi that has been the best Houston cheap lunch.

Try: BBQ pork banh mi

Tip: BBQ pork is the canonical banh mi. Cash strongly preferred. Closed Sundays.

2900 Travis St, Houston, TX 77006

Pho Binh (Bellaire) ★ 4.3

Vietnamese$

Pho Binh on Bellaire in Houston is the 1983 Vietnamese counter from the Le family, with rare-beef pho under $14 and a Vietnamese-iced-coffee tradition.

Try: Pho tai (rare beef)

Tip: Pho tai (rare beef) is the standard. Cash strongly preferred. Add Thai basil and lime at the table.

10827 Bellaire Blvd, Houston, TX 77072

Crawfish and Noodles ★ 4.6

Vietnamese$$

Crawfish and Noodles in Houston is Trong Nguyen's Bellaire Boulevard Viet-Cajun crawfish room since 2008, a James Beard semifinalist. At 11360 Bellaire Blvd.

Order: Crawfish in lemongrass garlic butter sauce. Blue crab off-season.

Why locals love it: A Bellaire Boulevard strip-mall Vietnamese kitchen that serves the country's defining Viet-Cajun crawfish, unknown to most national lists.

Tip: Crawfish only in season (late February to early June). Off-season the kitchen pivots to blue crab and Dungeness; both are worth ordering.

11360 Bellaire Blvd, Houston, TX 77072

Tacos Tierra Caliente ★ 4.6

Mexican$$Until Open until 22:00 Mon-Sat, 19:00 Sun

Tacos Tierra Caliente in Houston is the West Alabama taco truck open until 10pm in Montrose, with al pastor from the trompo and an ice house next door.

Try: Tacos al pastor

Tip: Three al pastor with pineapple and a consomme. The West Alabama Ice House next door is open later for beers.

2003 W Alabama St, Houston, TX 77098

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