Bánh canh is a quintessential Vietnamese dish. Its chewy rice noodle strands and light broth full of umami thanks to simmered pork, beef, chicken and seafood have stolen the hearts of generations of Vietnamese.
Rustic and cozy, one can feast on bánh canh at any corner of Vietnam, from sleek eateries to casual plastic tables on the sidewalk. It can be a warming soup on windy days, a quick breakfast before work, a nostalgic anchor for Vietnamese abroad, or simply something different on days when rice seems too tiring. In each province, bánh canh tend to take on a different personality, flavor profile, and even name, telling stories about its hometown’s culture and regional flair.
Regarding the name “bánh canh,” some believe that it came from the preparation method: a dish of bánh cooked like a soup (canh). Unlike phở, bún or miến — the making of which involves soaking or blanching noodles in hot water — strands of bánh canh are added straight into the broth to cook further after the initial blanching. Bánh canh noodles are often thicker and tougher than others, so a quick dunk won’t be enough to fully incorporate the flavors of the broth. Leaving them simmering away in the pot amidst the spices and stock allows them to sufficiently soften to a tender but not soggy texture.
Bánh canh Nam Phổ, a staple of the imperial city
Huế is home to a fairly diverse family of bánh canh, but the most famous is bánh canh Nam Phổ, named after a village in Phú Vang District, 6 kilometers from central Huế. According to village elders, the local version of bánh canh was so famous that even court mandarins flocked to the village in the late afternoon to have a taste.
The main ingredients in a bowl of bánh canh Nam Phổ.
Bánh canh Nam Phổ stands out thanks to a thick, viscous broth in a shade of bright orange due to the addition of roes from crabs caught in the nearby Tam Giang Lagoon. Traditionally, the dish is only made from wild-caught crabs, which are highly valued for their juicy and chewy meat. Crab shells are stewed to imbue a deeply umami taste in the stock, while crab meat is the topping. Additionally, shrimps are pulverized with pork knuckle meat and seasonings, then shaped into chunks of bite-sized chả tôm. Flavorful seafood and stock are eaten with handmade bánh canh noodles. In Huế, two types of bánh canh noodles are always available: pure rice flour (bột gạo) and a mix of tapioca and rice flours (bột lọc). The latter’s texture is more elastic for those who enjoy noodles with a bite.
Huế residents often say that bánh canh Nam Phổ is their light comfort food that eaters of any age can appreciate in any season of the year. Huế toddlers can ease into the dish with a bowl of only short noodle strands and the stock. Bánh canh is also an easily digestible meal for seniors. Those of the working class often bring a portion of bánh canh Nam Phổ home to eat with rice to make the meal more substantial.
Bánh canh cá lóc, a cooling treat in the heat of Bình-Trị-Thiên
Bình-Trị-Thiên was once a heated battleground during the fight against French colonizers. In 1989, the block was divided into three provinces: Quảng Bình, Quảng Trị, and Thừa Thiên-Huế. Though they’re now considered separate administrative units, they still share many similar cultural threads, including culinary staples like bánh canh cá lóc (catfish). Locals refer to it as cá tràu, a light-flavored fish popular in many arid central Vietnam’s delicacies.
Ingredients in a bowl of bánh canh cá lóc Bình-Trị-Thiên.
There are various ways to make bánh canh cá lóc. The most common one is as follows: catfish flesh is extracted, seasoned with spices, and then fried in oil; and the bones are ground to make a stock. To make the noodles, rice flour is worked into a dough, flattened, cut into strands, and then cooked in the fish stock. The Bình-Trị-Thiên version is characterized by the inclusion of củ nén, a type of allium bulb often seen in central Vietnam. Củ nén is fragrant but tiny, like a lychee seed. Its leaves are pointy and thinner than scallion leaves. Tasting this bánh canh the local way means readying your mouth for a formidable level of heat coming from chili powder, fish sauce-pickled chillies, and even green peppercorns.
Maritime central Vietnam’s seafood trove
Provinces along the central coast of Vietnam, from Đà Nẵng to Bình Thuận, are blessed with long stretches of the East Sea and its abundance of seafood. Fish types are prepared in a variety of dishes: boiled, grilled, salted, and pulverized into cakes. Ocean fish cakes, or chả cá, are tender, chewy, and rich with sea flavors. Slices of golden-brown fried fish cakes are an iconic topping in bánh canh from the coast.
A visit to Đà Nẵng is incomplete without dropping by “bánh canh ruộng,” a rustic local eatery that’s based right next to a rice paddy field — hence the name. Here, chewy rice bánh canh is served in a fish broth, with chunks of fried fish cake, bits of crispy tuna, quail eggs, fried shallots, and garnished with chopped herbs and chilies. It’s impossible to stop at just one bowl.
Ingredients in bánh canh chả cá.
Every locality along the sea has its own version of bánh canh chả cá, albeit with slightly different cooking methods, seasoning, and creative extrapolation — including but not limited to bánh canh hẹ Phú Yên, bánh canh chả cá nhồng Nha Trang, bánh canh chả cá Phan Rang, etc.
Bánh canh bột xắt, the Mekong specialty
In the Mekong Delta, bánh canh bột xắt is handmade using the highest-quality rice grains. First, the grains are soaked and ground. The excess water is removed, then the dough is kneaded, flattened using glass bottles. Noodle makers then place the dough sheets onto bottles and slice into strands. The resulting noodles are often thick and irregular.
According to Mekong elders, back in their days, noodle shops weren’t a thing, so one needed to be patient if they wanted to satisfy their bánh canh craving. In the late afternoon, mobile vendors would carry big vats of bánh canh on bamboo yokes into every corner, every village. Diners would surround the vendors to eat right in place or get takeaways. A bowl of bánh canh bột xắt is like a refreshing snack during that awkward time of the day when lunch is long finished, but it’s not quite time for dinner yet.
Bánh canh bột xắt ingredients.
Bánh canh bột xắt encapsulates the unique flairs of southwestern cuisine. The broth’s richness comes from both river ingredients and decadent coconut milk. Protein-wise, the toppings can vary depending on the province, including shrimp, crab, baby clam, or pork, but the most iconic meat is probably duck. The meat often comes from house-raised ducks with a balance between taste, texture, and fat content. Duck legs are chopped into small chunks, seasoned, and stir-fried.
Vats of bánh canh vịt xiêm are always bubbling with a layer of duck fat on top while the meat simmers away beneath. Before serving, par-cooked bánh canh noodles are dropped right in the vat and boiled until the broth has had enough time to seep in. Coconut milk is stirred in as the last step of cooking. A few ladles of noodles, duck, and broth go in a bowl with a squeeze of lime on top — a harmony of saltiness, sweetness, sourness, heat, and fat.
Bánh canh Vĩnh Trung, a cultural import from the Khmer community
Vĩnh Trung is a commune of Tịnh Biên, a mountainous township in An Giang Province, right on the border with Cambodia. One of the most famous local products is Nàng Nhen (Neang Nhen), a cultivar of high-yield rice that’s lightly fragrant and moderately glutinous. According to local history, a Khmer cook used this variety to craft bánh canh.
The strand of bánh canh Nàng Nhen is not cylindrical or thick like bánh canh bột xắt, but flat and thin like phở. Bánh canh Vĩnh Trung is often eaten with pork, beef, chicken, shrimp or fish. Traditionally, catfish is the protein of choice, but over time, local vendors have added a range of other toppings to accommodate diners’ demand.
Bánh canh Vĩnh Trung.
The family of bánh canh in Vietnam still features many other lesser-known versions that one article can’t possibly list out. Which one is your favorite?
