We all know rice flour makes rice noodles and wheat flour makes wheat noodles, but did you know you can also make noodles with tapioca starch?
Most of us are familiar with tapioca as the black pearls found in Taiwanese bubble milk tea. What's lesser-known is in Vietnam tapioca is often used as a binding agent in sweets and cakes – and to make noodles!
Bánh canh (Vietnamese tapioca noodles) are similar to Korean rice cakes (garraetteok). They have a soft and chewy texture and there are many varieties. However, Korean rice cakes only contain rice flour while bánh canh involves a mixture of rice flour and tapioca starch. The desired texture is achieved by the ratio of flour to starch; more tapioca starch leads to a chewier tapioca noodle.
In Australia, you can get fresh bánh canh, like you can bánh phở tươi (fresh pho noodles). However, I found it hard to buy bánh canh to my liking. I needed to go to Central Vietnam for that.
While travelling on a hired scooter on a rainy day in 2017, en route to the Hai Van Pass (about a 21-kilometre mountain pass), I sought shelter by a roadside vendor and stumbled upon a memorable bowl of handmade bánh canh cá lóc (snakehead fish tapioca noodle soup). When I saw how simple it was to make, I was inspired to try it at home and the street vendor was kind enough to show me his technique. The Hai Van Pass had to wait another day.
I now firmly believe homemade bánh canh – like homemade pasta – is an essential skill for every home cook.
How to make Vietnamese crab tapioca noodle soup. Source: Duncan Lu
You can either cut the bánh canh by hand or with a potato ricer, depending on how you want to serve it.
Hand cutting results in bánh canh that's rustic in shape and size. These noodles are ideal in broths with a gravy-like consistency. A famous variation is Vietnamese crab tapioca noodle soup (bánh canh cua). A potato ricer gives longer circular strands of bánh canh, ideal for a pork bone broth (bánh canh giò heo).
My recipe consists of approximately 60 per cent rice flour and 40 per cent tapioca starch.
If soft and slightly chewy bánh canh tickles your tastebuds, whip out your potato ricer and give this noodle a whirl.
Tapioca starch noodles (bánh canh)
There are two methods to make the bánh canh. If you use a stand mixer, add:
- 250 g rice flour
- 150 g tapioca starch
- 1 tbsp cooking oil
- ½ tsp salt
Mix until well combined on the medium setting. Then add until well combined:
- 400 ml hot water, 50 ml at a time
Remove from mixing bowl and with a dash of oil, knead until smooth. Allow dough to rest and set aside until broth is ready. The hot water is important as it gelatinises the starch and makes the noodles easier to handle.
If you use your hands, in a large mixing bowl add the rice flour, tapioca starch, salt and cooking oil and mix with chopsticks. Add 50 ml at a time of the 400 ml hot water, and mix until well combined. Then knead together with a dash of oil on your hands until smooth.
Allow dough to rest, then set aside until ready to cook.
Split up bánh canh dough into four equal parts. Pat hands with cooking oil and shape dough into a ball. With a rolling pin, roll one ball at a time out into a rectangle about 2-3mm in thickness then slice into 3-4mm wide noodles, being careful not to let them stick together. Place immediately into the pot one strand at a time and repeat for remaining dough.
Preparing the dough to make tapioca noodles. Source: Duncan Lu
Duncan’s tip: The shape and length of the noodles will naturally appear rustic. The varied cooking time between noodle batches are not a concern.
Once all noodles are in the pot, bring to a boil, reduce back to a simmer and cook for another 3-5 minutes.
Once cooked, strain the noodles, rinse under cold water briefly, then toss with a little neutral oil. Serve with sauce of choice.
Duncan likes to serve these in...
Vietnamese crab tapioca noodle soup (bánh canh cua)
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