Banh Mi vs. Khao Jee Pâté
Posted July 31
There’s an interesting (to me, anyway, and hopefully to you too) comparison between the local versions of “the world’s best sandwich.”
The Vietnamese Banh Mi is famous worldwide. It probably surprises many that the sandwich isn’t really that old. That’s partially because of the issue previously discussed here on the blog: the French colonists legally and socially prohibited the Vietnamese from consuming western style bread. However, the Banh Mi as we (or at least I) know it is actually much younger than even those prohibitions going away.
A typical Banh Mi stall in Hanoi
The basics of the origin myth for the Banh Mi are that it started in the 1950s as the reign of the French in Indochina was coming to an end, but the prototypical version that is sold today is actually a product of the 1970’s and 80’s.
That version consisting of a crusty baguette lined with a thin spread of pâté and then filled with grilled pork, herbs, and both fresh and pickled vegetables is now ubiquitous both in Vietnam and throughout North America and Europe.
Of course, the benefit(?) of fame and ubiquity is that it makes it fair game to take the original and modify it at will. Vegan version? Sure. Chicken instead of pork? Naturally. Truffles, caviar, gold leaf, and other proletariat shirking fillings that would make Ho Chi Minh roll over in his mausoleum? Yes, comrade.
Ho Chi Minh’s Mausoleum. Plenty of room for him to roll over.
Now to the obvious but not as well publicized part. French Indochina was bigger than just Vietnam. The colonial territory encompassed all of or parts of what’s now Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, and China. Yes, you read that right, China.
So as it turns out, the baking of French style baked goods, including baguettes, was done in places other than just Vietnam. Which means there’s a version of the baguette sandwich in other parts of the previously occupied territories.
I’m here to talk about one in particular: the Lao Khao Jee Pâté. Mainly because I really like it, and also because I find the difference between the two sandwiches almost perfectly mirror the difference in my experience of the cultures and attitudes of the people in Laos and Vietnam.
The typical Banh Mi, half eaten for research
First of all, what’s in a Khao Jee Pâté? Well, the typical Khao Jee Pâté takes a Lao baguette and has a thin spread of pâté, then is filled with mild Lao sausage, vegetables, and herbs. More often than not, a spicy condiment of some sort is also spread into the sandwich, whether it’s Jeow Bong (Lao spicy chili paste) or chili sauce. Pickled vegetables are not as common.
Two things here stand out as differences to me. First, the Lao Baguette’s crust and crumb is softer than the Vietnamese baguette. Second, the Khao Jee Pâté doesn’t have the briny bite of pickled vegetables, but it does bring a politely sweet heat.
So to accentuate the obvious: The Lao version is a bit softer, milder, and comfortably spicier; the Vietnamese version is crustier, sweetly acidic, and somehow louder.
A Khao Jee Pâté stall in Laos
I’m not going to tell you which one is better. There’s no need to make a choice here, you can have both.
What I think is the best bet is for you to travel to Laos and Vietnam yourself, have both, and decide for yourself if I’m stretching the analogy too thin.
Oh, and yes, the Cambodian Num Pang is the third leg of the baguette sandwich stool, but I didn’t eat enough of them to really get a chance to see how it reflected my experience of Cambodia. Which means I probably have to return to SE Asia and do more research.
A Typical Khao Jee Pâté, half eaten, again for research