Lay a large piece of baking paper on a flat clean surface, measure out your baking soda, and get your sieve ready.
Heat a large saucepan over a medium heat, and add the sugar and rice malt syrup.
Stir gently and intermittently until the sugar has dissolved.
Add the vanilla bean paste, stir through to combine, and put that spoon away because you're done using it for now.
Monitor the sugar mixture and use your wrist to swirl the pan if one section is more brown than others. You can adjust the heat as you see fit. You're looking for a golden brown colour, but best undercook than overcook, so err on the side of caution.Once the candy aspect is cooked to your liking, turn off and remove from the heat, and sift in the baking soda. DO NOT skip sifting like I normally do because I'm lazy. When you bite into a solid lump of baking soda, as I did, you will regret not sifting, as I did.
Picking the spoon back up, gently but quickly stir in the sifted baking soda. You don't want to squash the bubbles, but you do want to make sure you're not shaking baking soda out of the sides of your honeycomb, so make sure you do it right.Working quickly (and carefully because !HOT!) now the soda is incorporated, pour the mixture onto the baking paper. Fight the urge to touch anything or smooth anything over with a spoon. It's still bloody hot and you will squash it in your attempts to make it aesthetically pleasing.Allow your honeycomb to cool and completely harden - anywhere from 20 minutes to an hour. If you're in a particularly temperate climate, stick it in the fridge.