Order pho anywhere and the noodle in the bowl is banh pho, a flat rice noodle that is cut from steamed rice sheets and stays soft and slightly chewy in hot broth.
Beef and chicken bowls use the same noodle, sold fresh or dried.
Andrea Nguyen at Viet World Kitchen (2022) points out that pho is the name of the noodle as well as the soup, which is why menus list pan-fried and stir-fried dishes built on it.
Pho Noodles Are Flat Rice Noodles Called Banh Pho
Rice batter gets steamed into sheets and cut into ribbons. That leaves a square or rectangular cross-section, and most other rice noodles come out round.
The shape is what separates them. Put round vermicelli (bun) in the same broth and the dish is no longer pho, as both Tasting Table and LovingPho point out.
On packages it shows up under several names.
- Banh pho, or banh pho tuoi when it’s the fresh version
- Rice sticks
- Chantaboon, after a Thai city known for rice noodles
- Sen lek (narrow) and sen yai (wide)
- Banh hu tieu, a label that sometimes sits on the very same noodle
In Vietnam fresh noodles are easy to find, though dried ones are common there too. Abroad the balance flips and most cooks work with dried, according to Andrea Nguyen at Viet World Kitchen (2025).
The same noodle goes into beef and chicken bowls, which means how beef and chicken pho differ is all about broth and protein. The banh pho stays put.
What Are Pho Noodles Made Of?
Rice flour and water, steamed into thin sheets. Some makers add a starch, and which one varies by brand.
| Noodle type | Listed ingredients | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Dried rice sticks (Lotus Foods) | Organic white rice flour | Product label |
| Pre-cooked pouch (Ka-Me) | Water, rice, potato starch, lactic acid, barley amylase | Product label |
| Unchilled “superfresh” sheets | Rice, sometimes wheat starch (tang fen) | Viet World Kitchen, 2025 |
Nearly all round rice noodles are extruded, much like spaghetti. Banh pho gets steamed into sheets and then cut into strands, according to LovingPho (2019).
At a family-run factory Nguyen visited, a conveyor belt steamed the batter into thin sheets and a machine cut them. Workers then gathered the strands by hand and hung them to cool (Viet World Kitchen, 2017).
Rice has no gluten, so rice dough does not behave like pasta dough. Most cooks in Vietnam, home and professional, buy their noodles anyway.
How Wide and How Soft Should Pho Noodles Be?
The ideal pho noodle is flat and narrow, close to linguine, and soft with a slight chew. Wider strands suit stir-fries better than soup.
Width sizes and what each is for
Dry banh pho runs from 3 mm to 10 mm wide, according to LovingPho’s Cuong Huynh (reader reply, 2014). At 3 mm the cross-section is nearly square, which many cooks prefer for soup, and at 10 mm you are in pad thai territory.
| Size label | Pasta comparison | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| S | Linguine | Pho soup |
| M | Fettuccine | Pho soup |
| L or XL | Pappardelle | Stir-fried and pan-fried noodles |
The labels follow no industry standard, as Nguyen notes, so one brand’s M can run closer to another’s S. Go by the pasta comparison, or the millimeter figure when the pack prints one.
Texture and flavor
The noodle tastes of almost nothing, and that works in its favor because it soaks up broth. How the finished bowl tastes depends on the broth and garnishes around it.
Cooked noodles are soft and slightly chewy. They are white when raw and a bit translucent after cooking, and slippery enough to slurp without sticking in clumps.
LovingPho’s test is simple. A good bowl has no clumps at the bottom, and no strand should be tough or snap when you lift it with chopsticks.
Texture in Vietnam versus overseas
Doneness is a regional preference, not a rule.
In Vietnam the noodles are served tender and soft. Vietnamese diners abroad tend toward a firmer, more al dente bite, according to Viet World Kitchen (2017).
The one hard limit is thinness. Strands that are too thin turn mushy or break apart in steaming broth, per Tasting Table.
Fresh vs Dried Pho Noodles
Fresh noodles are more tender. Dried ones keep longer and are far easier to find, so buy fresh only if you plan to cook it within days.
Experts disagree a bit here. LovingPho’s Cuong Huynh calls fresh the ideal and describes the dried route as a long boil that leaves a mess, while Nguyen says dried noodles have a chew practically as good as fresh.
Huynh’s argument is about texture, where Nguyen’s leans on sourcing and shelf life.
Fresh pho noodles
A fresh pack has plenty going for it. The texture is tender and chewy, the closest you will get to a noodle-shop bowl, and chilled vacuum packs come in the small, soup-friendly size. Cook time is barely there.
The downsides are mostly about storage and price.
- Sealed packs keep about 10 days in the fridge, and 3 days once opened (Viet World Kitchen, 2025)
- Unchilled superfresh sheets are best the day you buy them and keep about 5 days refrigerated
- Packs run roughly $2 to $4, against about $1.50 for dried
- Some superfresh sheets contain wheat starch
“Fresh” in the US can also mean a process built for shelf life. Sincere Orient, a maker based in La Puente, California, uses a combination of drying and cooling to extend it, according to LovingPho.
Dried pho noodles
Stored in a cupboard, dried pho noodles should be used within a year of purchase (Viet World Kitchen, 2025).
They are stocked in Asian markets and in the international aisle of mainstream supermarkets. Reliable brands include Three Ladies, Three Bamboo, Caravelle, Annie Chun’s and Bangkok Elephant.
Sizing is not standardized, so a pack marked M may cook differently from another brand’s. Some brands are thin and delicate and others thick and chewy, so finding a favorite takes a few tries.
What to check on the shelf
Pick the dried pack with the fewest broken strands, and skip anything labeled “stir-fry” because that means thick noodles. For fresh, a vacuum pack should look sealed and tight, and superfresh sheets feel soft when poked.
Nguyen’s own habit settles the question for most kitchens. Dried stays in the cupboard, and fresh gets bought only when it passes the poke test and will be used fast.
How to Cook Pho Noodles Without Overcooking Them
Cook pho noodles until they turn opaque and pliable but still chew, then rinse. The timer matters less than the texture, because published times run from a few seconds to well over half an hour (soaking included) depending on the form and method.
| Form and method | Reported time | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Fresh, US-made refrigerated, blanched | 4 to 6 seconds | LovingPho, 2016 |
| Dried, boiled only | 8 to 10 minutes | LovingPho, 2016 |
| Dried, soaked in boiling-hot water | 15 to 20 minutes | CooksInfo |
| Dried, cold soak, then boiled | 30 minutes, then 3 to 5 minutes | CooksInfo |
| Thin-style dried, boiling-water soak | 4 minutes, in two 2-minute rounds | Lotus Foods label |
The spread comes from method and width, not from any disagreement about doneness. CooksInfo scales its boil from 3 minutes for narrow noodles to closer to 5 for thicker ones, and the Lotus Foods label times a thin-style noodle.
Every source lands on the same endpoint. CooksInfo wants noodles softened but still chewy, and Andrea Nguyen’s pho recipe, as published by Sunset, soaks thin noodles in hot tap water for about 10 minutes until opaque and pliable.
Step by step
- Rinse fresh noodles under cold running water. Dried noodles get soaked until pliable and opaque.
- Blanch fresh noodles for a few seconds. Cold-soaked dried noodles go into boiling water for 3 minutes if narrow, closer to 5 if thick.
- Drain and rinse under cold water whenever the noodles will wait, which stops the cooking and prevents clumping.
- Fill about a third of the bowl with noodles, add the meat, then ladle in boiling broth.
If the bowl goes out right away, skip the rinse. Drain, portion, top and ladle, all inside 15 to 20 seconds, according to LovingPho (2019).
The noodles swell in hot broth, so ease back on the other ingredients when you add extra noodles.
Where bowls go wrong
- Steaming noodles left unrinsed stick together. A cold rinse and a few tosses in a colander keep them loose until serving.
- Width changes the time, so test a strand instead of trusting the timer.
- Cuong Huynh of LovingPho says many US pho restaurants cook noodles incorrectly, and compares the result to pasta, where heat and time right before serving decide the texture.
- Many North American health departments list fresh banh pho among the foods that grow bacteria fast at room temperature, so fresh packs stay refrigerated (LovingPho, 2016).
A half-eaten bowl is a separate problem. The guide on how to store leftover pho deals with it.
Are Pho Noodles Gluten-Free, and How Many Calories Do They Have?
Rice-only pho noodles contain no gluten, but the gluten-free claim on the pack is the check that settles it. Calories depend on the form, and label figures are not directly comparable.
Gluten-free status
Rice noodles contain no wheat by design, though some labels carry additives, like the barley amylase on the Ka-Me pouch.
In the US a food can carry “gluten-free” only when it holds less than 20 ppm gluten (21 CFR 101.91, eCFR current as of October 2026). Ka-Me says it tests its pouches to under 5 ppm.
Nguyen told a reader avoiding wheat to buy dried rice noodles, which usually have some starch mixed in but no wheat (Viet World Kitchen, 2018).
Calories and label figures
Dried noodles hold less water per gram, so they run higher in calories than fresh ones per 56 g (2 oz) serving. The pouch is listed per 150 g, so it is not a like-for-like figure.
A sample package of fresh banh pho lists 150 kcal and 240 mg sodium per 2 oz (56 g) (LovingPho, 2019). The Lotus Foods label puts dried pho rice noodles at 200 kcal and 0 mg sodium per 2 oz (56 g) dry. The Ka-Me pre-cooked pouch comes to 200 kcal per 150 g pouch (Ka-Me label).
The sodium gap stands out, though it compares two brands, not two forms.
A bowl adds broth, protein and garnishes, so the whole-bowl figure sits above any of these. How many calories a full bowl of pho holds is a separate question.
Pho Noodles Compared With Rice Vermicelli, Pad Thai Noodles and Ramen
Only pho noodles are narrow, flat, soft and rice-only. Pad thai noodles are the same flat rice noodle in a wider cut, rice vermicelli is round, and ramen is wheat.
| Noodle | Made from | Shape and bite | Gluten |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pho noodles (banh pho) | Rice flour | Flat, soft, translucent | None in rice-only packs |
| Rice vermicelli (bun) | Rice | Round, thin | None in rice-only packs |
| Pad thai noodles | Rice | Flat, wider cut | None in rice-only packs |
| Ramen | Wheat flour, kansui | Firm, springy | Contains gluten |
Rice vermicelli (bun) suits rice noodle bowls and fresh rice paper rolls (goi cuon). Banh hoi, a superfine rice noodle, is eaten with grilled or roasted meats (Viet World Kitchen, 2025).
Pad thai noodles are the same flat rice noodle in a wider cut, and some fresh packs carry both labels. The stir-fried dish pad thai is built on that wider cut.
Ramen goes a different direction entirely. It is a wheat noodle defined by kansui, an alkaline mix of sodium and potassium carbonate, according to The Takeout. Myojo USA credits kansui with the firm, springy bite, and WebstaurantStore sets that against the soft, translucent pho noodle.
Matching noodle to dish is easy enough once you know the shapes. Pho gets flat, bun bowls get round, pad thai gets wide, and ramen gets wheat.
Substitutes for Pho Noodles (and When They Break the Dish)
The closest substitute is another narrow, flat rice noodle. Everything else changes the bowl, which is fine when the change is deliberate.
Sources disagree on how far a swap can go. Nguyen says pho without rice noodles is still pho, while Huynh at LovingPho calls a bowl with a different noodle “broken” pho.
- Brown rice noodles work, while purple and red rice noodles look striking but cook up soft (Viet World Kitchen, 2025)
- Blanched bean sprouts, 2 or 3 handfuls per serving, go into the noodle pot at the last minute, with a shape and width close to the noodle (Nguyen, 2022)
- Shirataki is chewy, white, flavorless konjac at about 20 calories per 8 oz serving (WebMD), though pricey and a lot of chewing
- Spiralized zucchini or daikon work best mixed 50/50 or 60/40 with rice noodles and parboiled first so they do not knock the broth off balance, and daikon can be gassy
Color alone is not the problem. Pho Hai Thien, a mini-chain in Saigon, makes its pho noodles in-house and stains them with vegetable juice (Viet World Kitchen, 2017).
Start with the nearest width of flat rice noodle. Reach for shirataki or vegetable spirals only when carbohydrates are the reason, and mix them with rice noodles to keep the bowl recognizable.
Pho Noodles FAQ
Are egg noodles ever used in pho?
No, not in a traditional bowl. The noodle in pho is banh pho, a flat rice noodle, and LovingPho says pho served with round noodles is a different dish.
Egg noodles are a wheat product, so they also bring gluten.
Can you make pho noodles at home?
Yes, but most cooks skip it. Andrea Nguyen tried and would rather leave the job to professional makers (Viet World Kitchen, 2017).
For fresh noodle sheets, she recommends a lightweight nonstick skillet that heats and cools quickly, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.
Is banh hoi the same as banh pho?
No. Banh hoi is a superfine rice noodle eaten with grilled or roasted meats, while banh pho is the flat noodle that goes into pho (Viet World Kitchen, 2025).
Dropping banh hoi into a pho bowl gives you strands far thinner than any pho noodle.
Can you freeze fresh pho noodles?
Yes, with a catch. Nguyen told a reader that vacuum-sealed fresh noodles can be frozen, but in her experience the strands break (Viet World Kitchen, 2020).
Test one pack before freezing a batch.
Do pho noodles taste different in Vietnam than in the US?
Barely. Cuong Huynh of LovingPho argues that pure rice noodles all taste alike, and that the gap at the table comes from freshness and cooking technique.
Vietnamese shops typically serve noodles made the same day, which changes texture more than flavor.
Can pho noodles be served cold?
Yes. Blanch fresh noodles for a few seconds, then rinse longer under cold water to chill them, as in a sesame and scallion salad from Wicked Kitchen.
Toss them with dressing right away so the strands stay loose.
Choosing Pho Noodles for a First Bowl
Narrow, dried pho noodles are the safest choice for a first bowl. A fresh blanch is measured in seconds and a dried boil in minutes, so dried noodles leave far more margin for error.
Pick the size first, since width cannot be corrected once the noodles are in the pot, while doneness can. Then cook until a tasted strand is pliable and chewy, rinse, and build the bowl.
The trade-off is a little tenderness, a gap Nguyen describes as small (Viet World Kitchen, 2025). Checked in October 2026, though a new brand resets the cook time, so retest one strand whenever the pack changes.
When the noodles are ready, how to eat a finished bowl of pho covers the next step.
