Bánh Canh is a distinctive dish in the culinary scene of the South Central and Southern regions of Vietnam. In this article, we will guide you on how to prepare Bánh Canh with fish cake, a specialty from Nha Trang, as well as other popular Bánh Canh variations like crab Bánh Canh and snakehead fish Bánh Canh.
Making Bánh Canh with Rice Flour
The noodles for Bánh Canh can be made from various types of flour such as rice flour, tapioca starch, cassava flour, and wheat flour. Sometimes, a mixture of flours is used to make the noodles tastier and more palatable. Here, we will guide you on how to make Bánh Canh from rice flour, the most commonly used ingredient for this dish.
– Ingredients: 300g rice flour, 150g tapioca starch, ⅓ teaspoon salt, 2 tablespoons cooking oil, water. You can choose pure rice flour or filtered rice flour.
Adding tapioca starch to the rice flour makes Bánh Canh noodles chewier
Step 1: Put rice flour in a bowl with tapioca starch, cooking oil, and salt. Then, gradually add water, ensuring the mixture isn’t too wet or too dry. Knead the dough until it becomes elastic and smooth.
Knead until the dough is elastic and smooth
Step 2: Use a smooth plastic bag and cut one corner of the bag to the size of a chopstick’s end. Evenly spread a bit of cooking oil inside the bag. Then, place the entire kneaded dough into the bag.
Step 3: Heat a pot of water until it reaches a rolling boil. Next, hold the dough-filled bag in one hand, aiming the cut corner down towards the pot, and start squeezing. Squeeze out long strands around the bottom of the pot, ensuring the strands cover the pot’s bottom before stopping.
Squeeze the dough bag to produce long strands that circle the pot’s bottom
Step 4: Continue boiling until the noodles float to the water’s surface, indicating they’re cooked. Remove them and immediately transfer to a bowl of ice water. Then proceed with the remaining batches of dough
Boil until the noodles float, then scoop them out and place them in a bowl of ice water
Step 5: Once all the dough has been processed, drain the Bánh Canh noodles from the ice water bowl into a colander and rinse with water once more to finish.
Soaking in ice water ensures the Bánh Canh noodles are chewy, glossy, and attractive
How to Cook Bánh Canh with Fish Cake
Ingredients and Preparation
– 0.5kg fish cake, 1kg Bánh Canh noodles, chicken or pork bones, 10 quail eggs, 2 tomatoes, 1 carrot, 1 onion, pineapple slices, green onions, garlic, and chili. Basic seasonings include salt, sugar, MSG, and pepper.
– Split the carrot into 6 parts. Quarter the onion. Slice the tomatoes into wedges. Cut the pineapple into triangle pieces. Dry and finely chop the garlic and green onions. Choose either fried or steamed fish cake and cut into bite-sized pieces.
– Briefly blanch bean sprouts and Bánh Canh noodles in boiling water before serving.
Basic ingredients for making Bánh Canh with fish cake
Procedure to Cook Bánh Canh with Fish Cake
Step 1: Clean the bones and briefly blanch in boiling water. Next, place the bones in a separate pot, adding 2 liters of water. Simmer the bones for about an hour with a stalk of lemongrass, a crushed dry onion, carrot, and quartered onion.
Simmer the bones and other ingredients for about 1 hour
Step 2: After an hour, remove the bones and season to taste.
Step 3: Add the pineapple slices and tomatoes. Boil for 3 minutes before adding the fish cake. Continue boiling for another 5 minutes.
After removing the bones, add ingredients like pineapple, tomatoes, and fish cake, and simmer for a few more minutes
Step 4: Sauté the garlic and onions until golden brown and then add them to the broth. Introduce the peeled quail eggs and turn off the heat.
Step 5: Presentation and enjoyment
Place the Bánh Canh noodles in a bowl, arrange the fish cake, carrot, fragrant tomatoes, quail eggs, and sprinkle onions on top, then pour over the broth. Add some pepper for enhanced flavor.
Making Bánh Canh with fish cake is quite straightforward, and a delicious, aromatic bowl is ready after a few preparation steps
In conclusion, we’ve just walked you through the preparation of Bánh Canh with fish cake, a very popular dish in Nha Trang. In addition, Bánh Canh with crab and snakehead fish are also favorites for many. The cooking method for these two dishes is quite similar to the one above, with the only difference being the substitution of fish cake with either crab or snakehead fish.
How to Cook Bánh Canh with Crab
Ingredients and Preparations
– 2-3 crabs, chicken or pork bones, 300g shrimp, Vietnamese pork roll (chả lụa), fish cake, quail eggs, 300g straw mushrooms.
– De-shell the crab and extract its roe. Split the radish into 6 parts. Halve the onions. Devein the shrimp, then boil until cooked and peel. Boil the quail eggs. Wash the accompanying vegetables and let them drain.
– Cut an ‘X’ on top of the straw mushrooms and soak in salt water for about 3 minutes, then rinse and drain.
Basic ingredients to prepare Bánh Canh with Crab
Steps to Cook Bánh Canh
Step 1: Combine bones, radish, and onions with about 2 liters of stock and simmer for approximately 1 hour. After simmering, remove all the ingredients. The broth preparation is similar to the Bánh Canh with fish cake. To enhance the flavor of the broth, sauté the straw mushrooms until fragrant and add them to the broth before turning off the heat.
Simmer until tender, then remove all the bones and vegetables from the broth
Step 2: Sauté the garlic and onions until fragrant, then add the crab roe and stir-fry. Once cooked, season to taste and transfer to a separate bowl. When serving, spoon the crab roe mixture on top of the bowl for a beautiful presentation.
Step 3: Sauté the crab meat and crab claws in a pan. Stir-fry briefly until the crab turns golden in color.
Lightly fry the crab meat and crab roe to reduce its fishy smell before adding to the broth
Step 4: Add green onions and sauté until fragrant, then add straw mushrooms and season to taste. When the mushrooms become translucent, they are done, and you can turn off the stove.
Sauté the straw mushrooms until cooked
Step 5: Add all the crab meat and crab roe to the broth. Boil for about 10-15 minutes until the crab is cooked, then remove and set aside on a plate. Mix 10g of cornstarch with water and then pour it into the pot of broth. Adjust the seasoning to taste, then turn off the stove.
The crab broth has the beautiful red color of the crab and the vibrant white of the straw mushrooms
Step 6: Presentation and enjoyment.
The toppings will include crab, boiled meat, fish cake, quail eggs, etc. Place the noodle cake and the aforementioned ingredients into a bowl, pour in the broth, and enjoy
How to Make Snakehead Fish Noodle Soup
Ingredients and preparation
– 700g of snakehead fish, 7 bulbs of dried onions, Vietnamese coriander, green onions, microgreens, noodle cake. Basic seasonings like sugar, salt, MSG, seasoning seeds, and pepper.
– Clean the snakehead fish, marinate with fish sauce, salt, sugar, MSG, seasoning seeds, and ⅓ teaspoon of curry powder. Marinate the fish for 30 minutes.
– Finely chop green onions and Vietnamese coriander. Wash microgreens to eat raw. Thinly slice dried onions and divide into two portions.
Basic ingredients to make snakehead fish noodle soup
Instructions for Snakehead Fish Noodle Soup
Step 1: Place a pan on the stove, fry the dried onions until fragrant, and then add the fish to sauté. Add 1 tablespoon of curry powder or annatto oil for color.
Lightly fry the fish to make the meat firmer and to remove its fishy smell
Step 2: After the fish becomes firm, pour in boiling water to create the broth.
Step 3: When the fish is cooked, remove it from the broth. Adjust the broth’s seasoning. Lastly, add the noodle cake and cook until they float to the top, indicating completion.
Boil the broth until the fish is cooked, then remove it
Step 5: Use chopsticks to break the fish into bite-sized pieces.
Making snakehead fish noodle soup is quite simple. In just a few steps, a delicious pot of noodle soup is ready
Step 4: Presentation and enjoyment
Place a bit of microgreens in a bowl. Ladle an appropriate amount of noodles into the bowl. Add some pieces of fish on top, along with green onions, Vietnamese coriander, and pepper. Finally, pour in the broth and enjoy.
A bowl of snakehead fish noodle soup is incredibly delicious and appetizing
The above is a method to cook fish cake noodle soup and other popular, tasty noodle soups. If you have the time, try your hand at making these dishes for a delightful change for the whole family.