Vietnamese · soup
Banh Canh (Thick Noodle Soup)
Banh Canh (Thick Noodle Soup) reads umami 7.1, funk & ferment 6.6 and salinity 5.8 on Palate's 0–10 flavor X-ray — a Vietnamese soup, about 1 hr 30 min. Measured from the recipe itself: ingredients and technique.
The flavor X-ray — six axes, 0–10
- Umami & Savory — 8.9 / 10
- Sweet & Fruity — 3.7 / 10
- Sour & Bright — 0.7 / 10
- Bitter & Earthy — 0.7 / 10
- Rich & Fat — 3.9 / 10
- Aromatic & Spice — 5.2 / 10
The measured notes (of 18)
Umami 7.1 · Funk & Ferment 6.6 · Salinity 5.8 · Marine & Briny 5.2 · Allium 4.9 · Richness 3.9 · Sweetness 3.7 · Herbaceous 1.8 · Warm Spice 1.3 · Heat 0.7 · Sourness 0.7 · Earthy 0.6 · Bitterness 0.6
What's in it (10)
- 12 oz tapioca noodles
- 1 lb pork
- 2 lbs pork bones
- 3 tbsp fish sauce
- 1 tsp sugar
- 2 shallots, sliced
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 4 green onions, sliced
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 2 tbsp fried shallots
Time & effort: about 1 hr 30 min (25 min active) · effort: medium
Nutrition (per 100 g, engine-estimated): 112.2 kcal, 11.7 g protein, 5.2 g fat, 4.7 g carbs
Dietary: Contains meat — engine-derived; double-check anything allergy-critical.
How it's cooked (3 steps)
- Simmer pork bones into a rich, slightly gelatinous broth and season with fish sauce and sugar.
- Cook thick tapioca noodles in the broth until tender.
- Serve topped with pork, shrimp, or crab meat, green onions, black pepper, and crispy fried shallots.
Dishes with a similar flavor shape
- Garlic Noodles — American · Californian
- Hu Tieu (Southern Noodle Soup) — Vietnamese
- Bossam (Boiled Pork Belly with Radish Salad and Oysters) — Korean
- Bulalo (Beef Bone Marrow Soup) — Filipino
- Pad See Ew with Chicken — Thai
Keep reading: what umami, funk & ferment, salinity mean in the flavor lexicon · the world's cuisines, by flavor.
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Every number above is Palate's engine-measured estimate, computed from this recipe's ingredients and techniques — not human-tasted ratings or reviews.