Finger-thin baguette · Chili-tomato sauce
Bánh Mì Cay (Bánh Mì Que)
Photo: TieuThanh1990 / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0
The 'cay' (spicy) comes not from the bread but from chí chương, a chili, garlic and tomato sauce whose name is traced to Hai Phong's old Chinese community.
Not a stuffed sandwich but a thin stick of bread, split, spread with nothing but pork-liver pâté, toasted crisp and finished with chí chương; sold cheaply by the bagful as a grab-and-go snack.
Why it's made this way: Started at a small shop off Hàng Kênh street in Hai Phong in the 1980s, and so tied to the city that it is sold elsewhere as 'bánh mì cay Hải Phòng'.
More from Vietnam
Part of World of Street Food — 3422 dishes from 118 countries.
Something wrong here? Tell us in the comments below.
Photo credits.