Vietnamese

Bánh Canh Cua

A comforting Vietnamese crab noodle soup with chewy bánh canh noodles in a glossy pork-and-crab broth. The bowl is finished with sweet crab meat, shrimp, quail eggs, rau răm, scallions, and fried shallots.

Ingredients

• Fresh bánh canh noodles450g
• Pork neck bones or pork back bones500g
• Live blue crab or mud crab, cleaned1 small, about 450g
• Raw shrimp, peeled and deveined150g
• Quail eggs, boiled and peeled6
• Dried shrimp, rinsed1 tablespoon
• Yellow onion1/2 medium
• Shallots3
• Water1.5 liters
• Fish sauce2 tablespoons
• Rock sugar or granulated sugar1 teaspoon
• Salt1 teaspoon, plus more to taste
• White pepper1/2 teaspoon
• Annatto oil1 1/2 tablespoons
• Tapioca starch2 tablespoons
• Cold water for slurry3 tablespoons
• Scallions, thinly sliced2
• Cilantro, chopped2 tablespoons
• Vietnamese coriander, rau răm, chopped2 tablespoons
• Fried shallots2 tablespoons
• Lime wedges2
• Fresh red chili or chili oilto serve

Method

1. Blanch the pork bones in boiling water for 5 minutes, then drain, rinse well, and wash the pot.
2. Return the cleaned bones to the pot with 1.5 liters water, the dried shrimp, yellow onion, 2 whole shallots, and 1 teaspoon salt.
3. Bring to a boil, skim off foam, then simmer gently for 45 minutes.
4. Add the cleaned crab to the simmering broth and cook for 8 to 10 minutes until the shell turns red and the crab is cooked through.
5. Remove the crab, let it cool slightly, pick out the meat, and return the crab shells to the broth to simmer for another 15 minutes.
6. Strain the broth into a clean pot and discard the bones, aromatics, dried shrimp, and crab shells.
7. Season the broth with fish sauce, sugar, and more salt if needed, then keep it at a gentle simmer.
8. Mince the remaining shallot, heat the annatto oil in a small pan, and sauté the shallot until fragrant.
9. Add the shrimp and picked crab meat to the annatto oil, season with white pepper, and cook just until the shrimp turn opaque.
10. Stir the tapioca starch with 3 tablespoons cold water to make a slurry.
11. Slowly pour the slurry into the simmering broth while stirring until the broth becomes lightly thick and glossy.
12. Add the peeled quail eggs to the broth and warm them through for 2 minutes.
13. Blanch the fresh bánh canh noodles in boiling water for 30 to 60 seconds, then drain and divide between 2 bowls.
14. Ladle the hot thickened broth and quail eggs over the noodles.
15. Top each bowl with the crab meat, shrimp, scallions, cilantro, rau răm, fried shallots, extra white pepper, chili, and a lime wedge.

Common questions