Bánh Canh Bột Lọc (Banh Canh Tapioca Noodles)

I have always been fond of preparing food using flour since high school. I was a newcomer to America during my high school years. American food was one of the big challenges for me to take on.  So I usually skipped lunch and after getting home from school, I ran straight into my kitchen, took out a bag of flour, and started preparing dough for bánh canh (tapioca/rice noodle soup), bánh bột lọc trần (shrimp tapioca dumplings), or bánh bao (pork steamed buns), depending on my craving.

When I was in college, I hardly cooked at all. Perhaps I depended on my roommates who were older and of course wiser to feed me. We only ate out when we had to study for tests and finals.  They tell me now that they would never have imagined I would turn into a homemaker and a food blogger. :-)

A couple weeks ago, while vacationing in Hawaii, we had enjoyed great food - surrounded by the swaying palms and cool ocean breeze - and yet I couldn't resist that urge for soul food. I craved for a bowl of bánh canh (tapioca noodle soup). But I had to wait until we returned to the mainland. There is nothing like the pleasure of simple, delicious, comfort food to warm the soul. As soon as we got home, my girls and I spent our time in the kitchen making a variety of food including bánh canh to satisfy our craving.

In previous posts, I shared with you a less chewy version of banh canh noodles recipe using the old school method. In this version, I used the mixer to mix the dough, and a potato ricer to press the noodle instead of cutting the dough into noodle strips by hand. I like both methods and use either depending on my mood.

The tapioca noodles in this version have less rice flour and therefore the texture is more chewy and that's just how my girls like it. Unlike the rice noodles, the tapioca noodle strings will stick together if they are not immerse in the hot liquid. Hence, I always add the noodles straight into the boiling broth pot.

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RECIPE: Banh Canh Tapioca Noodles

Printable Recipe

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Ingredients

 1 bag (15 oz) Tapioca Flour

2 tablespoons Rice Flour

1 1/4 cups - 1 1/2 cups boiling Hot-Water

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Tools

a Potato Ricer or a Cookie Press, click here to purchase it
a Mixer
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Directions

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Making Dough

In a mixing bowl, combine tapioca and rice flour and mix well. 

While the water is boiling, measure 1 1/4 cups of boiling hot-water and pour into the flour bowl. Mix flour using a paddle attachment at medium speed until all the ingredients are thoroughly combined and turned into dough. Increase to high speed if needed.  The dough should be soft.  Dough that is relatively dry will be too thick and too difficult to press through the plate.  If the dough is dried, add a little bit more of boiling hot-water to soften the dough so it can be easy to press through the plate.  Add some extra flour if the dough is too tacky.  How much water all depends upon your brand of flour, how old it is, and the temperature and humidly of the room.

If you don't have a mixer, using your hands to knead the dough is acceptable.  My daughter is always up for kneading flour the old fashion way.  

Remove dough from the bowl and finish the kneading process by hand for a couple minutes to get a satin feel to it. The dough in the pictures below is a little bit thick and stiff, so I needed to add more boiling hot-water.

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Pressing Noodles

Divide dough into 5 balls.  

Pour a little of cooking oil onto the dough balls.  The purpose of oil is to prevent dough from sticking to the potato ricer and it makes it easy to press the dough down.  

Add 1 ball of dough at a time (leave the other covered to prevent drying) into the potato ricer and press it down into the boiling broth pot.     

Repeat the process until finished.

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Presentation

Enjoy a bowl of bánh canh with your favorite broth and toppings. I usually serve my family this tapioca noodle soup with shrimps and crabs or fried fish patties and striped bass meat.

Ăn Ngon! Eat Well!