Banh Canh Noodles substitute

Substitutes for Banh Canh Noodles with ratios

1. 2Sliced Korean Rice Cakes (Tteok)

   Close match

   Use the same amount by weight, simmered 4 to 6 minutes

   The cylinder-shaped tteokbokki rice cakes, or the oval sliced ones for soup, are the nearest thing in the mouth to a real banh canh noodle.

   What changes

   Soak refrigerated ones in cold water for ten minutes first so they soften evenly.

   Best for

   banh canh cua, crab and pork soups, when the chew matters most

   The bouncy, springy, slightly resistant chew is almost exactly right, and rice cakes shed starch as they cook, so the broth thickens the way it should. The shape is the compromise: they are short and stubby rather than long, so you eat them with a spoon rather than slurping them, and they are denser and more filling, so use a little less than you would noodles. They also keep softening and eventually go pasty, so do not let the pot sit.

2. 3Homemade Tapioca Starch Noodles

   Close match

   200g tapioca starch to 150ml boiling water, kneaded, rolled 5mm thick and cut into strips

   This is what banh canh bot loc actually is, and it costs almost nothing.

   What changes

   Pour boiling water into the starch, stir hard, knead the hot dough until smooth and elastic, roll it out, cut fat strips, and boil them for two to three minutes until they float and turn clear.

   Best for

   banh canh bot loc, authentic texture, gluten-free banh canh, when no shop stocks the noodle

   The real thing, chewy and translucent, and it thickens the broth exactly as it should because it is pure tapioca. The only difficulties are practical: the dough must be worked hot or it crumbles, the strips stick to each other so toss them in a little dry starch after cutting, and they turn gluey if boiled more than about three minutes. Boil them in water, not directly in your broth, or the soup thickens into paste.

3. 4Thick Fresh Rice Noodles

   Different texture

   Use the same amount by weight, loosened in boiling water for 30 to 60 seconds

   Fresh wide or thick rice noodles from the chilled section, sometimes sold as fresh rice noodle rolls or thick pho noodles.

   What changes

   Cut the wide sheets into fat strips if that is the format you find.

   Best for

   banh canh ca, fish and light broths, gluten-free versions

   Rice-based like some banh canh, so the mild, faintly sweet flavour is right and the broth thickens a little. But rice noodles are soft and tender rather than springy, so you lose the specific bounce entirely, and they break apart if you stir the pot hard or reheat leftovers. Fold them into the bowl at the last moment rather than boiling them in the soup.

4. 5Bucatini or Thick Spaghetti

   Taste and texture differ

   Use the same amount by dry weight, cooked 2 minutes short of the packet, finished in the broth

   The supermarket-only option, and bucatini is the better of the two because the hollow centre traps broth.

   What changes

   Cook it most of the way in salted water, then finish it in the simmering soup for the last two minutes so it picks up flavour and gives back some starch.

   Best for

   improvised banh canh, when only Italian pasta is available

   You get the right heft and something to chew, and finishing it in the broth adds a little body. But durum pasta tastes distinctly of wheat, it is firm and toothy instead of slippery and bouncy, and it never becomes slick, so the soup and the noodle stay separate rather than merging. Salt the broth a touch harder, because unsalted pasta pulls seasoning out of the soup.

5. 6Fat Sweet Potato Starch Noodles

   Different taste

   Use the same amount by dry weight, soaked in hot water 20 minutes then boiled 5 to 6 minutes

   The wide, thick Korean or Chinese sweet potato starch noodles, not the thin glass noodle threads.

   What changes

   A good pick if your grocery has the noodle aisle but no banh canh.

   Best for

   banh canh cua, hearty pork broths, gluten-free versions

   Excellent chew, arguably chewier than the real thing, and satisfying to eat. They are greyer and more translucent though, so the bowl looks wrong, and they keep drinking broth as they sit, so a bowl left ten minutes has swollen noodles and very little soup. They also stay resolutely elastic where banh canh softens slightly. Cook them separately and portion into bowls just before serving.