Banh canh is a thick noodle soup with a more basic broth with pork (some come with chicken, crab or shrimp), spring onions and freshly sauteed onions sprinkled on top. Banh Canh noodles are round, thick, pasty tapioca / rice flour noodles. They are similar in thickness to the Japanese Udon noodle. In fact, some Vietnamese restaurants use the Udon noodle as a substitute for Banh Canh noodle soups.
The most representative dish of the Southern clear broth thick noodle soup is banh canh Trang Bang (from Trang Bang district in Tay Ninh province). The flavor of this dish come from only the pork. Its broth is made by simmering pork bones with some kinds of bulbs, then soused on thick noodle and eat with the boiled sliced pork feet or pork muscle… The thick noodles must be soft but tough. The broth must be clear.
You also get a small plate of freshly chopped red chilies, sliced lemon and a small bowl of original fish sauce (nước mắm nguyên chất) for dipping the boiled pork into as you eat. And the last is a tray of fresh and strange green raw vegetables like perilla (tía tô), thai basil (húng quế), mango buds (đọt xoài), jack buds (đọt mít), etc… A hot bowl of Banh Canh Gio Heo tastes so delicious and unique with the cool of raw vegetables mixed with the hot of chili peppers, the sour of lemon and the greasy sweet flavour of pork feet, the charming of original fish sauce.
Compare with other noodle soups in Vietnam like Pho or Hu Tieu, Banh Canh Gio Heo seems very simple. But in my opinion, I think the simplicity is the strength of this dish. It’s like the soul of the south western people in general as well as the Tay Ninh people in particular.
Very delicious!
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