Amazing Banh Canh Dishes You Absolutely Have to Try

Noodle soups are always a favorite with city dwellers. Hu tieu, egg noodles and pho are the go-to choices when hunger strikes, but there is another dish that diners love just as much: banh canh, Vietnam's thick noodle soup.

Banh canh comes in many varieties. Skilled cooks have created fragrant, delicious, well-balanced bowls that always offer diners something new whenever they think of this dish.

CRAB BANH CANH

If we're talking about banh canh today, the first one to mention has to be crab banh canh. It is the most popular of all the banh canh dishes. Crab banh canh is made with tapioca noodles, and each bowl comes with plenty of "toppings" that please both the eye and the palate, such as crab meat, pork, blood cubes, crab cakes and mushrooms, plus quay (fried dough sticks) to eat with it if you like.

A typical bowl of crab banh canh has just the right amount of broth, so it never feels heavy. The sweetness of the crab really comes through, and the thick, well-seasoned broth is delicious with the fried dough sticks dipped in it. A quality bowl like this is fairly cheap, too: from just 30,000 dong you can have a hearty bowl for a weekend dinner.

SNAKEHEAD FISH BANH CANH

Here is another dish from Vietnam's beloved central region. Snakehead fish banh canh is so tempting it will win you over every time. The noodles are made from chewy, fragrant rice flour and sit in a thick broth, surrounded by pieces of golden, crispy fried snakehead fish. You can also add quail eggs and fish cake carefully wrapped in banana leaves to make it even more appealing.

You have to eat this dish hot to fully enjoy its flavor. Since it comes from central Vietnam, if you are from the south you may not be able to eat the bitter herbs served with it; you can add a little pepper or chili to tone down the strong taste of the fish and greens. A bowl of snakehead fish banh canh without eggs or fish cake costs about 30,000 dong and is well worth the money.

SWEET BANH CANH

This wonderful, unusual dish comes from the Mekong Delta. Rice flour noodles are cooked with palm sugar and fresh coconut water, then served with coconut milk and fragrant toasted sesame seeds. It is a childhood treat, and a whole youth comes flooding back in a bowl of sweet banh canh.

If you have a sweet tooth, this dish is for you. Even if you don't, you can still try it to taste the delicate sweetness of palm sugar rather than that of cane sugar. In the Mekong Delta it sells for only 10,000 dong, so if you get the chance, give this unusual dish a try.

BLUE SWIMMING CRAB BANH CANH

This is considered a sibling of the crab banh canh above: instead of freshwater field crab, the vendors use blue swimming crab. A bowl of this banh canh has all the same components as crab banh canh, only with blue swimming crab in place of field crab. A whole crab is placed in the appetizing bowl, and diners pull it apart and eat it with a small dish of salt, pepper and lime. It costs a little more than crab banh canh, usually around 45,000 dong a serving.

If you come to Saigon, you will easily find places selling blue swimming crab banh canh. Go and try it together to see why these shops are always so busy.

GARLIC CHIVE BANH CANH

A cool, fresh green covering the whole bowl is the one standout feature of this dish from Phu Yen.

When you visit this poetic part of Vietnam, be sure to "visit" this much-loved dish, which many locals have grown up with. The pungent garlic chives blend with the chewy noodles and the sweetness of the fish; add a little pepper and enjoy it to the very last drop.

PORK HOCK BANH CANH

Big, meaty pieces of pork hock, covered in a layer of very cleanly scraped skin, are placed in the bowl, making it look small by comparison. There are two kinds of pork hock, a sinewy cut and a lean cut, and you can pick whichever suits your taste.

This dish can be cooked with either rice flour or tapioca noodles. As tempting as it looks, the price is even more tempting: for just 25,000 dong you get a warm, filling dinner with no late-night hunger pangs.

COCONUT MILK BANH CANH

Another Mekong Delta dish you shouldn't miss. Coconut milk banh canh is usually sold alongside sweet banh canh, so diners can choose according to their own taste.

The bowl has the signature white color of coconut milk, its richness paired with chewy rice flour noodles, dried shrimp and very fragrant snakehead fish. The broth is thick yet never cloying; what makes this dish excellent is that the coconut milk is blended in exactly the right proportion, so it never feels too rich.

TRANG BANG BANH CANH

If you get the chance to stop by Tay Ninh province, you simply must have a bowl of Trang Bang banh canh before leaving this beloved place. It may look simple, made with just pork and noodles, but the locals' unmistakable recipe produces a flavor you won't forget once you've tasted it.

A bowl costs only 20,000 dong, very cheap for a quality bowl with lean pieces of pork hock that have little skin or sinew, tender but not mushy. The delicate, subtle sweetness of this dish is the most precious thing about the local cuisine.

NAM PHO BANH CANH

A red color is the first thing you notice about Nam Pho banh canh. It is a simple bowl, without as many kinds of meat as other banh canh dishes, but it has a hidden beauty in its simplicity. Painstakingly prepared by dedicated cooks, the thick red broth is made from crab meat and shrimp, giving it a sweet, fragrant flavor; add a few sprigs of cilantro and some pepper, and it is enough to warm a hungry stomach after a stressful day at work.

BEEF BALL BANH CANH

Round, fragrant, springy beef balls cooked in a sweet, savory broth are the highlight of this famous dish.

As you know, beef balls are usually just a little bigger than a fingertip, but these days many shops make beef balls several times larger than the traditional ones to give diners something new. Soft, chewy, pure white noodles surround the giant beef balls in a truly mouthwatering way. This bowl is great value too: for about 30,000 dong you can find out what giant beef balls are all about.

FISH CAKE BANH CANH

Fish cake banh canh immediately brings to mind Nha Trang, home to the country's most beautiful coastline. When you holiday in this dreamy place with its long, pure white beaches, stop by a local eatery for a bowl of Nha Trang fish cake banh canh after a tiring day of sightseeing.

The fish cakes are carefully made, golden fried on the outside and springy and smooth inside, with the delicate sweetness of the fish and the cook's skillful seasoning. Most are made from mackerel, lizardfish or marlin; eat them with fried shallots and pepper to make your banh canh even more delicious.

Ng.D