Beyond the baguette: France’s rich food legacy in Vietnam is sure to help President Hollande feel at home
French bread was first made in Vietnam to feed hungry soldiers in Indochina, France’s empire which spanned much of Southeast Asia
It has been more than six decades since the end of French colonial rule in Vietnam, but when President Francois Hollande arrives this week he’ll struggle to avoid a quintessential legacy of his country’s rule: the baguette.
Smeared with pate and loaded with fresh coriander and cucumber, or just enjoyed with a pat of fresh butter, “banh mi” are a delicious symbol of Vietnam’s lasting links with its former occupiers.
“The French were very proud of banh mi. I think French cuisine has had a lot of influence on Vietnamese cuisine,” baker Nguyen Ngoc Hoan said from his busy boulangerie in Hanoi’s French Quarter.
Hoan started baking banh mi – which refers to plain bread or the popular “petit pain” loaded with meat, vegetables or fried egg – in 1987 and five years later got a stint at the bakery in the storied Metropole hotel, built by the French at the turn of the 20th century.
The French were very proud of banh mi. I think French cuisine has had a lot of influence on Vietnamese cuisine
The sandwich has become a foodie favourite in hipster enclaves around the globe, sold from food trucks and sipped with craft beer in both its classic form and a flurry of new varieties.