I think you missed the most important aspect of banh mi, which is the bread itself. The French love their bread and imported wheat flour during their colonial stay in Vietnam. At some point rice flour was mixed in giving banh mi a softer texture with a flakier crust. Banh mi means "wheat bread", but it's more of a rice bread actually. It's a very east meets west kind of dish, since you have a typically western carbohydrate source (wheat) mixed with a typically eastern carbohydrate source (rice). Anyways I'm not a stickler for what's counts as "authentic" banh mi, but most recipes have minimum requirements which is the bread in this case. The fillings are variable.
It was made in the 1950s supposedly as an anticolonial symbole. The French didn't allow for the modification of French cultural items like the baguette or cold cut sandwiches. After colonialism ended in 54 the Vietnamese made the banh mi as a sort of f-- you to the French since they modified both the sandwich and the bread as you mentioned!
I think the conception of banh mi had more to do with supply and demand than making a political statement. In Vietnam wheat flour is more expensive than rice flour, the price of imported wheat can fluctuate depending on factors such as bad harvests, war, and transportation costs. Mixing in rice flour gives it the quality aforementioned, but it also makes it more economical to produce and sell. Of course, Vietnam didn't enjoy rule under the French Empire, but Vietnam still kept the French culture for bread and coffee. There's a few buildings in Vietnam that are made with French architecture like the post office and notre dame cathedral (looks like the one in Paris) in Saigon, and there's a significant portion of the population that's Catholic. When it comes to culture and occupation, I think Vietnam has more of a "just keep what we like after they leave" kind of policy.
Jin Kusanagi oh no, you know nothing about Vietnam or Vietnamese cuisine. Vietnamese, especially Nothern Vietnamese do appreciate a lot of what the French left behind in culture aspect, there is absolutely nothing like “lets just keep what we like only”. We do really think that the French did influence our culture in a good way during the war, unlike the American. And we are even proud of that. About the banh mi, we have many different recipes for banh mi but mostly with wheat flour (or you can mix in a little bit of rice flour), the kind of banh mi which was made from only rice flour must be since my grandparents generation (they are 98 this year) i’m 35 years old and i have never seen banh mi pure rice flour, must say that i ve been eating banh mi since i was a child, we didnt mix the rice flour in because it would be cheaper (and it was like this just in the past, during the war and right after the war was over when we had nothing much to eat) but mostly because we don’t like the dense texture of original french baguette, we prefer it to be light, soft and a little chewy inside but crispy outside. Living in France for 10 years now, eating all the good baguettes and croissants, but when it comes to banh mi, there is no wat i would use a baguette to make banh mi.
@@DannyRug that’s so ignorant. The difference, is that we took that ingredient that was given to us and made something new yet recognizable. It IS still a baguette, we’re not trying to say we invented the baguette. Now, if anybody else makes pho and tries to claim that their way of making pho is the best or the right way, despite their very limited knowledge of pho, then that’s a problem. Y’all stay mad.
A banh mi isn’t banh mi unless it has a soft inside but crispy outside, has homemade mayo, and pate. Pickled carrots/daikon are the next must have, then herbs and chilis. The actual protein is kinda trivial to me. Cold cuts, sardines, grilled meats, meatballs all take a second seat.
I'm Vietnamese and I know there are many types of banh mi in Vietnam, many different version with local ingredients....but bacon and cilantro-Maggi mayo?? This is like the Taco Bell version of Mexican food. I guess since her family came to the US in 1975, she's an Asian American. Her food don't have much of that Vietnamese touch anymore. Very Americanize. Also, funny how she mentioned it's more difficult for minority than straight white male to succeed and the video showed what look like a white male serving them and she's the owner of the restaurant. I don't like the political aspect this food video.
I love how you chopped up everything she said. Culture is ever changing, if that’s the way she likes her bánh mì then that’s the way she likes it. I don’t like lee’s sandwiches for their hard baguettes and that’s just me, why does it matter? It is still a variation of the original product, therefore still recognizable as one. Unless she slapped two pieces of rye bread on to tuna salad. Also, the last part of your comment is extremely ignorant. Who’s to say you can’t struggle yet still succeed? Many people of color who are placed on an uneven playing field has succeeded. If anything I think it’s insulting especially coming from another Asian American who sees the same struggles.
I don't think anyone would expect a white person to make better pho. However I do think her opinion of the white may be biased. Given the option of a "white" pho restaurant vs a veitnamese pho restaurant, I would always choose the veitnamese because you automatically assume they would be better, given their deep ties to their culture.
@Mark 1 *"That she had to work her ass off to establish because her parents didn't come from generations of American money." You forgot that part, Mark. :)
Mayo are authentic, just not the kind you often find in US supermarkets. Many vendors in Vietnamese use both pate and homemade mayo as spreads on their banh mi
SO. Let me get this straight. I can spend years dedicating time and effort into another country/culture's cuisine, but because I'm white, that doesn't make me an expert. I thought we were supposed to be diverse and NOT discriminatory?
I think you’re completely wrong. I personally don’t care if you’re white, good pho is good pho, as long as you don’t take it so far left that it’s no longer recognizable as pho and still call it pho. The problem she has with it is as mentioned, when people of a different culture take our food, turn it into something else, and still call it pho and capitalize on our culture. That’s the problem.
That really distracted me. Pho has a short window of time in which it can be eaten before the noodles get soggy and the broth cools. It’s fabulously delicious up to that point, so neglecting it is a tragic waste.
Wrong reporter for the job. Lost me with ‘I don’t know how to eat pho’ and then required a chopstick lesson - should have sent someone who actually enjoys pho
có nghĩa là: phở theo chân ng tị nạn VN và phở ở mỹ nổi tiếng khắp tg do công của ng VN tị nạn, nếu như phở ở NGa hay ở Trung quốc sẽ ko nổi tiếng đến như vậy
Phở bây giờ ở Nga cũng nổi tiếng rồi đấy và đầu bếp cũng là người Nga luôn. Phở bắt đầu thịnh hành ở Nga một phần nhờ người Việt một phần lớn theo tôi là do du khách Nga sang Việt Nam ăn Phở khi trở về họ mới đi tìm quán VN. Phở VN và ẩm thực VN ở Trung Quốc đã nổi tiếng rồi.
lousy doc, why on earth is music blasting over people talking normally? plus the weird tangent about refugees being american or not, and personal stories. I want history of the food like it says in title!
Nobody cares about communism outside of China, Laos, Cuba and Vietnam mate. Most 3/// live normal lives, only the du luan vien are obsessed with shit talking even though the 3/// are way better off lol. The du luan vien spend so much time smack talking but then have to face reality when they realise they live in an authoritarian shithole that's poor and heavily polluted.
1st: When the hell did Banh mi and Pho become American's foods? 2nd: Banh mi wasn't create by French, but French were needed for the invention of pho. 3rd: Culture isn't static, yes. But, there's authentic Vietnamese food. 4th: You can't just steal pho from us. Pho is more popular in America, yes. But, you don't claim a food because your country eats it. Pho had been Vietnamese and will always be Vietnamese. I mean, I can't just come to you and say: "Hamburgers are Vietnamese food, stop denying it!" You'll be mad, or even furious. Besides, American Pho tastes like an unclean shit in the toilet for 5 years in a building, so don't a thing that you don't master yet. 5th: For us, Asian-Americans are just Americans. Because you eat American's foods, you listen to American's music, you speak American's English, you live American's way of life, you think like Americans. Your skin is just your cover.
Sang Pham damn. why are you so angry toward Vietnamese-Americans? Food in America is incredibly different than Vietnam, which is mostly a homogenous country. United States is a country comprised of multiple cultures which is why the food that comes from other cultures gets influenced in the western fabric. The Pho here is bomb. It’s Vietnamese-American. It’s probably not authentic to Vietnam and that’s okay. Our cultural identify is still meaningful to us, and we are still Vietnamese. It’s up to us to identify what Vietnameseness means to us, and you have no right to comment on overseas Vietnamese on how they identify with their culture. I’m proud of my biculturalism and I wouldn’t change a thing about it. So hop off this elitist, purist attitude.......
If you have English comprehension, you'll understand what the MC meant. She said how Vietnamese food became American food, meaning how the 2 Vietnamese dishes became popular in the U.S.
@@moniqueeebite Don't say you're Vietnamese-American when you don't have both Vietnamese passport and American passport 'cause you're American. BTW If you call it American's food then choose another name
@@PhucHoang-gz8yu I'm proud to be bi-cultural. I was raised in Little Saigon, Westminster. Highest concentration of Vietnamese folks outside of Vietnam. I'd say I had pretty good juggle of American-ness and Vietnameseness. I'm sure you're from mainland, Vietnam, but I believe it is not within your right to tell someone how they identify with their culture. Besides, passports don't really mean anything. If someone is undocumented in a country, does that make them any less of a citizen of that country? That is perpetuating toxic nationalism, and it is more political than it is cultural identity. As much as cultural identity CAN be political, it is very much up to the personal discretion of an individual to determine that for themselves. You can't take that away from a person. :)
@@PhucHoang-gz8yu Vietnamese-American means American(nationality) of Vietnamese decent(ethnicity). Learn the difference between Race,Ethnicity and Nationality before making yourself sound ignorant.
@@lamnguyenha325 I just feel like Cambodian noodle soup ( kutiev) is typically more packed with flavor out of the gate ( because there there literally more ingredients there than pho) , whereas with pho I often find myself needing to add extra sauces to eat it. That said I would never reject a bowl of pho.
when people discuss foods being products of colonialism (such as bahn mi), in my view its not trying to take away from the origin country because bahn mi is obviously as viet as you can get. To me those discussions are more about allowing culture and food culture to be more fluid and acknowledging that everything good comes from the mixing of culture. I see it as sort of a combative to the idea that cultures should be isolated and kept a certain way. So much amazing food and other types of culture only exists because of "cultural appropriation" and I think its important to highlight these things that different cultures can share in, instead of focusing on cultural differences so much. Thats not to say colonialism was a good thing in all aspects because thats clearly not the case. But I do think its ok to acknowledge the parts of our cultures which would not have come to be without the mixing with other cultures.
