Tú Phương

TÂY NINH — In Tây Ninh, arguably the best place to visit is Bà Đen Mountain, known as the rooftop of southeastern Việt Nam, while the best dish to taste is Trảng Bàng bánh canh (rice noodle soup). 

In my opinion, the noodle soup from the former town of Trảng Bàng is one of the most delicious and well-known regional specialities.

A local resident who rented me a motorbike also confirmed that the noodle soup is a traditional delicacy representing the entire region and is truly worth savouring.

He said there are many legends about the origin of bánh canh.

The most famous is about a nameless noodle soup vendor. Seeing that many people were still living in hardship and poverty, she often served them for free..

Later, out of compassion, she passed on her secret recipe for making the noodle soup to others so they could make a living. She is considered the patron saint of Trảng Bàng's bánh canh. 

According to another piece of local lore, the dish dates back to the early 20th century, originating among farming families in Tây Ninh, who over time, created a unique recipe that reflects the character of their homeland. 

The stories made me curious, so I decided to stop at a restaurant and give it a try.

The dish was served within several minutes. It featured soft, tender rice noodles in a light, naturally savoury broth made from pork bones, carrots, straw mushrooms and dried shrimp.

Toppings included lean pork, pork trotters, fried spring rolls and quail eggs, along with chopped coriander, scallions and pepper. Lime juice, fish sauce and fresh chilli were served on the side, allowing diners to adjust the flavour to their taste.

 

What made the soup different was the generous selection of accompanying vegetables: more than 20 types of fresh greens, from wild herbs to garden vegetables, served with a rich sweet-and-sour fish sauce that created an unforgettable flavour.

The all-in-one bánh canh offered me a delicious and vibrant breakfast, setting me up to explore the area. It was so good that I had a bowl every morning during the four days I was in the province, eating at the best places suggested by Google.

The ingredients were nearly the same, but the flavours varied slightly. Like phở in Hà Nội, bánh canh comes in many versions, as each chef has their own way of preparing the broth and toppings, giving each bowl a distinctive taste.

But according to Năm Dung, the cook at Năm Dung Restaurant, it all starts with the noodles. Fragrant rice is soaked in water overnight before being ground into a batter. The steamed rice batter is kneaded and the dough is then pressed into long, round noodles and boiled until cooked. Each rice noodle maker has their own way of seasoning the rice flour to make their product unique.

 

If the noodles are the soul of the dish, the broth is what creates its depth of flavour. Made mainly with pork bones and simmered for hours, the broth delivers a taste that is both delicately sweet and rich.

The secret behind this, according to many cooks, lies in the high-quality groundwater of Tây Ninh, sourced directly from untreated wells.

The combination of the broth and noodles creates a special taste for every diner, Dung said.

"In my area, you can find bánh canh all over the place, including at famous tourist attractions like Bà Đen Mountain, the Cao Đài Holy See and Lò Gò-Xa Mát National Park, as well as in traditional craft villages," she said.

"That's because it is a favourite among local residents and has gradually become a source of livelihood for generations of families and a source of pride for Tây Ninh's cuisine."

 

"Our dish has been brought to many cities and provinces in Việt Nam and even to Cambodia, with customers often ordering raw noodles from us.

"You know, you have just tasted one of the '100 typical culinary dishes and specialties of Việt Nam'. Our noodle soup was first listed in 2016. This honour made Tây Ninh and bánh canh much more famous than before, and we are really happy about that," she added. — VNS