In vietnamese, bánh means “biscuit” and mì translates to “flour” or “wheat”. When the french occupied indochina from the mid-19th to mid-20th century, they introduced the french baguette and pâté to vietnam. The vietnamese called the narrow loaves of bread bánh tay which literally translates to “foreign cake”. By combining french influences with local ingredients such as pork, thinly sliced cucumbers, sweet pickled carrots and daikon (do chua), cilantro, chili peppers, and garlic mayonnaise, the vietnamese bánh mì (pronounced bun – mee) was created.