The History of the Bánh Mì Vietnamese Sandwich

Asian American History 101

Welcome to Season 4, Episode 44! We love eating a good Bánh Mì. The combo of fresh veggies, spice, savory protein, crunchy elements, fresh herbs, and acidic pickles makes for a satisfying meal. There’s a reason it’s so popular across the globe as a breakfast, lunch, or dinner item. In this episode, we discuss the history of French colonialism in Việt Nam and how the foods they brought in were adapted to become this iconic sandwich. And bonus! You get to hear our attempts at pronouncing Vietnamese names and words.

We open the episode with a shout-out to the Dodgers World Series run as well as Natalie Nakase’s WNBA accomplishment. Then we weigh in on the Bobba controversy. We end this episode with one of our favorite recurring segments… Obscure API Comic Book Characters where we talk about I-Ching from the DC Comics Universe. Hear how this hero helped Wonder Woman, Superman, and more.

Photo courtesy of The Viet Vegan.

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Segments

• 00:25 Intro: Dodgers in World Series, Natalie Nakase, and Bobba
• 09:59 The History of the Bánh Mì Vietnamese Sandwich
• 30:52 Obscure API Comic Book Characters, I-Ching