How about “Vietnamese crab udon soup” at home? (Bánh canh cua)

Welcome back to the cooking category of the blog! Today’s recipe is “Bánh canh cua” or so called “Vietnamese crab udon soup”. If you are a big fan of soup and crab, don’t miss out on this one! Now let’s dig in!

What is “Bánh canh”?

“Bánh canh” is a type of thick Vietnamese noodles that are usually made from rice flour and tapioca flour. If the noodles are made from rice flour entirely, they will look white; if a portion of tapioca flour mixed in, the noodles will have some translucency. In most Vietnamese restaurants in the US, it is called Vietnamese Udon, probably because the thickness, the shape is quite similar to Japanese udon, except that Japanese udon is made of wheat flour.

Where can I try this Vietnamese crab udon soup?

And if you happen to travel to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, here are some places with stunning “bánh canh cua” for your authentic try. Trust me, they are SO DELICIOUS!!!

Origin of “bánh canh cua”?

While the origin of “bánh canh” was from the South East region of Vietnam, “bánh canh cua” or “Vietnamese crab udon soup” was from Hue, the old capital of Vietnam during the 1800s. When reaching the South of Vietnam, the taste of this dish was modified, probably just a little bit sweeter. It still maintains a strong crab taste, the broth still has a delight sweetness and savory flavor that makes my mouth watering every time I think of it. So I have to make it, and I would like to share the recipe with all of you.

How can I make “bánh canh cua” at home?

For this recipe, we will need crabs. Some recipes will call for whole crabs, like blue crabs or dungeness crabs: the crab will be boiled and cooked with the broth, which brings lots of flavors and crab taste to the broth. Here I prefer crab meat (already removed from the shells) that is usually frozen in Asian markets. Snow crabs, king crabs and stone crab don’t go well with this recipe, unless the meat was removed nicely from the shells to be used later. I tried with snow crabs, and the amount of time to get all the meat out of the shell was triple the time I need to cook the broth. And the meat did not come as whole, shredded and fallen apart, even though it still tastes incredible. So yeah, for the sake of my fingers, my time, and the visual of the dish, I will just use frozen crab meat.

Regarding the broth, pork-based broth/stock or vegetable broth is good for this recipe. Sometimes, thin-sliced pork is served with the dish so pork-based broth is great to start with. I don’t usually have pork broth/stock so I use vegetable broth instead. And add in mushrooms and dried shrimps (optional) for more flavors. You can also add in some cooked shrimps for a more authentic experience at home!
(I forgot the shrimps, profusely apologize for that!!!)

Ingredients: (for 8 servings)

• Vietnamese udon (dried): 400 grams (you can buy it fresh in Asian grocery stores)
• Crab meat: about 1 lb (usually found in frozen aisles of Asian grocery stores)
• Vegetable broth: ~3 L
• Shiitake mushrooms: 1/2 lbs
• Dried shrimp (optional): 1/4 cup
• Cilantro roots and stems from 1 bunch (save the leaves for garnish)
• Black whole peppercorns, coriander seeds: 1/2 tablespoon each
• Seasoning:
  • Fish sauce: 3 tablespoons
  • Sugar: 4 tablespoons
  • Mushroom bouillon powder: 2 tablespoons
  • Annatto oil: 4 tablespoons
• Garnish: cilantro, spring onion, fried garlic and shallot

Preparation:

• Add the broth into a large pot and place it on medium heat. Slowly bring it to boil. The dried shrimps (if used) are added in this step.
• If you use fresh shiitake mushroom (or any other fresh mushrooms), rinse, pad dry and cut in half or into quarters (depends on how big the mushroom is). If you use dried mushrooms, rinse, and add directly to the pot above to rehydrate the mushrooms and extract the umami flavor from them. When the mushrooms are fully cooked, take out, cut in half or into quarters and add back to the broth.
• When broth is boiling, add the frozen crab meat to the broth and bring it to boil again. Remove any scums floated on the surface.
• Meanwhile, rinse the cilantro bunch and pad dry. Separate the cilantro stems (with not many leaves) and the top with lots of leaves. Gather all the stems and tie them with cotton strings to place in the broth later.
• Prepare a small tea bag with whole black peppercorns and coriander seeds.
• When the broth is boiling back, add in the cilantro stems and the tea bag with black peppercorns and coriander seeds. Cover with lid and reduce the heat to simmer, let it simmer for 15 minutes.

• If you use fresh “bánh canh”, skip this step. While waiting for the broth, cook the dried “bánh canh” (or so called Vietnamese Udon) in boiling water until soften. After that, drain and rinse with cold water, and set aside till serving.
• After that, remove the tea bag and cilantro stems. Then, season the broth with fish sauce, sugar and mushroom bouillon powder. Add in the annatto oil for the characteristic vibrant orange color of the dish.
• Place the Vietnamese udon to a bowl, then pour in the hot broth. Chop some spring onion and cilantro as garnish. Sprinkle with some more ground black pepper, add some fried garlic and shallot for an elevated taste. And enjoy!

Total time: 40 minutes

It was so so delicious!! Since I made a lot (8 servings), I shared 3 portions with my friend last week! She replied to me that it was so damn good! And she leave a note that please let her know whenever I made it again! That just spoke some volume to the quality of the dish, didn’t it?

If you haven’t tried it yet, follow these steps and cook you some Vietnamese crab udon soup to enjoy! I’m sure it would amaze you! And don’t forget to like/share/follow this blog for more yummy recipes! Look forward to you all in the next post!