Banh Canh is thick Vietnamese Noodle that look like Japanese udon which has the thickness of a chopstick, more or less. The Vietnamese word “banh” refers to items such as noodles or cakes that are made from flour, and “canh” means soup.

Banh canh is typically made with rice or tapioca flour (or a mixture of both) instead of wheat flour. The thickness of the noodle is roughly similar. The texture of the banh canh noodle depends on whether you’re using the tapioca flour or rice flour or a mixture of both. The tapoica flour banh canh will be almost clear when cooked with with a chewy consistency. The rice flour version is much less chewy. The soup base can be cooked from pork, crab, fish, and the topping can be with fish cake, mushroom, Vietnamese ham, shrimp balls, etc.

There are many variations of the bánh canh with soup such as: Bánh canh cua - a rich, thick crab soup, Bánh canh bột lọc - a more translucent version of the noodle, Bánh canh chả cá - the dish includes fish sausage and is popular around Vietnam, Bánh canh giò heo tôm thịt - includes pork knuckle and shrimp.