Oakland's banh mi runs through the East Lake International Boulevard corridor. Pho Ao Sen, Banh Mi Ba Le and the Eastlake noodle row anchor the citywide version.

Vietnamese refugees settled in Oakland after 1975, building the San Antonio and Eastlake neighborhoods into a Vietnamese commercial corridor. Banh mi the dish blends French baguette (1880s colonial influence) with Vietnamese fillings: pate, mayonnaise, sliced pork, pickled daikon and carrot, jalapeno and cilantro. The Oakland version is Vietnamese-Cambodian-Lao through influence from the broader corridor.

Where to eat Oakland banh mi in Oakland

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Make it at home

Serves 42 hrEasy

Ingredients

  • 4 small French baguettes or banh mi rolls
  • 400g pork shoulder, thin sliced
  • 100g pork pate or chicken liver pate
  • Mayonnaise
  • 1 cucumber, sliced into batons
  • 1 large carrot, julienned
  • 1 daikon, julienned
  • 60ml rice vinegar
  • 60g sugar
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 2 fresh jalapenos, sliced
  • 1 bunch cilantro
  • Soy sauce, fish sauce, garlic

Method

  1. Pickle the carrot and daikon: dissolve sugar and salt in rice vinegar, pour over julienned veg. Rest 30 minutes minimum.
  2. Marinate the pork in 2 tbsp soy sauce, 1 tbsp fish sauce, 2 cloves minced garlic. Rest 15 minutes.
  3. Grill or pan-sear the pork over medium-high heat until caramelized.
  4. Split the baguettes and toast lightly. Spread one side with pate, the other with mayonnaise.
  5. Layer pork, pickled carrot and daikon, cucumber, jalapeno and cilantro. Close and press.

Editor tip. Toast the baguette but keep the crust crispy and the inside soft. A Bay Area banh mi roll is the ideal vessel; outside the Bay, use a baguette warmed in the oven for 5 minutes.