Banh hoi, the rice noodle woven into a mat
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Banh hoi is rice vermicelli made so fine that the strands are pressed together into a mat. The mats are steamed, brushed with chive oil and cut into squares. You eat them wrapped in lettuce with pork and herbs, dipped in fish sauce.
The noodle is never served in soup. The whole point of weaving it is that a square lifts in one piece, which loose noodles will not do.
How is banh hoi made?
Banh hoi starts as rice soaked overnight, ground with water into a batter and cooked into an elastic dough. The dough goes through a press with a plate of tiny holes. The strands that come out are finer than ordinary bun, close to the width of a thread.
Workers lay the strands flat in a thin single layer on banana leaves or trays. A short second steaming, about 5 minutes, sets them into a sheet. The cover photograph shows them stacked straight after that stage, before anyone has cut them.
Most of it is now pressed by machine, though some Binh Dinh workshops still do it by hand. The hand method needs two people, one pressing and one catching and laying the strands.
How is banh hoi different from bun?
Banh hoi uses the same rice batter as bun but takes it further: thinner strands, pressed into a sheet rather than left loose. Bun is a noodle you put in a bowl. Banh hoi is a noodle you pick up and wrap, and it never goes into soup.
The texture follows from that. A square is soft and slightly springy, and it soaks up the chive oil brushed over the top. Bun is chewier and wants a sauce to cling to.
What do you eat with banh hoi in the south?
In the south, the noodle comes with roast pork, grilled pork or chao tom, shrimp paste grilled on sugarcane. At family feasts and weddings it sits next to roast duck. A plate of lettuce, cucumber, herbs and pickled carrot comes alongside, with a bowl of nuoc mam cham for dipping.
| Banh hoi with | Where | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| Heo quay | South | Roast pork with crackling |
| Thit nuong | South | Grilled pork, as in bun thit nuong |
| Chao tom | South and centre | Shrimp paste grilled on sugarcane |
| Bo la lot | South | Beef grilled in betel leaves |
| Long heo | Binh Dinh, Quy Nhon | Boiled pork offal, with rice porridge |
| Vit | Family feasts | Roast or boiled duck |
Bo la lot counters often offer it as the starch inside the wrap. Ask for it; it holds together better than loose bun.
What is banh hoi long heo in Quy Nhon?
Banh hoi long heo is Binh Dinh's breakfast, and the reason the noodle is famous in the province. Small rolls topped with chive oil come with a plate of boiled pork offal: intestine, liver, heart, tongue. A small bowl of thin rice porridge, chao long, sits on the side.
A plate and bowl cost about 20,000 to 40,000 dong in Quy Nhon in 2026. The stalls open before 6am and sell out by mid-morning. The offal is clean and mild, and anyone who eats pho with tripe will have no trouble with it. Quy Nhon sits about 6 hours down the coast road from Da Nang, which is why few visitors have heard of the dish.
How do you eat banh hoi properly?
Take a lettuce leaf, lay a square of the noodle on it, then a piece of meat, herbs and a strip of pickle. Roll it up and dip it in the nuoc mam cham. The fish sauce guide explains what is in that bowl and why it is sweet.
Do not cut the square smaller first. The sheet is sized for one wrap, and it holds the herbs in place. The herbs guide covers which leaves belong on the plate.
Where do you find banh hoi?
The noodle is easiest to find in the south and the south-central coast, at restaurants that serve grilled pork or at Binh Dinh breakfast stalls. In Saigon it appears on the menus of bun thit nuong counters and family restaurants as a swap for bun.
In the north it is rare outside southern restaurants. A dish listed as "banh hoi heo quay" is the safest first order, at around the price of a bowl of noodles. It is also one of the easier plates to share, because the wrapping is the meal.
FAQ
What is banh hoi?
Banh hoi is very fine rice vermicelli pressed into thin woven sheets, steamed, then brushed with oil and chopped chives or spring onion. It is eaten cut into squares and wrapped in lettuce and herbs with roast pork, grilled meat or offal, dipped in seasoned fish sauce.
How is banh hoi different from bun?
Banh hoi uses the same rice batter as bun but presses it far finer and lays the strands into a flat mat rather than leaving them loose. It is never served in soup. The sheet is meant to be lifted in a piece, wrapped and dipped, which loose bun cannot do.
What is banh hoi long heo?
Banh hoi long heo is the Quy Nhon and Binh Dinh breakfast: banh hoi with boiled pork offal, intestine, liver and tongue, eaten with a small bowl of thin rice porridge on the side. A plate and bowl cost about 20,000 to 40,000 dong in 2026.
What do you eat banh hoi with?
In the south, roast pork, grilled pork or shrimp paste grilled on sugarcane are the usual partners, often with duck at family feasts. In Binh Dinh it comes with pork offal and porridge. Every version adds lettuce, herbs and a bowl of nuoc mam cham for dipping.
How is banh hoi made?
Rice is soaked overnight, ground with water into a batter and cooked into an elastic dough. The dough is pressed through a mould into hair-fine strands, which are laid flat on banana leaves in thin mats and steamed again for a few minutes before they are cut.