Vietnamese

Banh Canh Cua (Vietnamese Crab Noodle Soup)

Name: Banh Canh Cua (Vietnamese Crab Noodle Soup)
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 60 min
Total time: 85 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Vietnamese

Thick, chewy tapioca noodles in a silky, crab-rich pork and prawn broth with crab meat, prawns, quail eggs and pork roll. A hearty Saigon street-food soup.

Serves

Prep

mins

Cook

mins

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Ingredients

Pantry bits

Fish Sauce

Crispy fried shallots

Tamarind

1kg pork bones
1 onion, halved
300g raw prawns, peeled (keep the shells and heads)
2 tbsp neutral oil
4 shallots, finely chopped
1 tbsp annatto oil or 1 tsp paprika fried in 1 tbsp oil, for colour
200g cooked crab meat
3 tbsp fish sauce
1 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp tapioca starch mixed with 60ml water
500g fresh banh canh noodles (thick tapioca or rice noodles)
12 quail eggs, boiled and peeled
150g Vietnamese pork roll (cha lua), sliced
4 spring onions, sliced
2 tbsp crispy fried shallots
Lime wedges, sliced chilli and black pepper, to serve
1 tsp tamarind concentrate (optional, for a gentle tang)

Instructions

Put the pork bones in a large pot, cover with cold water and boil for 5 minutes. Drain and rinse. Return to the pot with 2.5 litres of fresh water and the onion and simmer gently for 45 minutes. Strain.
While the stock simmers, heat 1 tbsp oil in a frying pan and fry the prawn shells and heads for 3 minutes until red and fragrant. Add them to the stock for the last 15 minutes, then strain everything out.
In the frying pan, heat the remaining oil and the annatto oil. Fry the shallots for 1 minute, then add the crab meat and prawns and stir for 2 minutes until the prawns are just pink. Season with 1 tbsp fish sauce.
Season the strained stock with the remaining fish sauce, the sugar and tamarind if using. Bring it to a simmer and stir in the tapioca starch mixture. Simmer for 1-2 minutes until slightly thickened and silky.
Add the crab and prawn mixture, quail eggs and pork roll to the broth to warm through.
Cook the noodles in a separate pot of boiling water for 2-3 minutes (or according to the packet) until chewy and translucent. Drain and divide between bowls.
Ladle over the broth with crab, prawns, eggs and pork roll. Top with spring onion and crispy fried shallots, and serve with lime, chilli and black pepper.

About this dish

Banh canh cua (bánh canh cua) is a favourite Saigon street-food soup, built around thick, slippery noodles made from tapioca or rice flour. The broth is slightly thick and silky, coloured orange with annatto and loaded with crab, prawns, quail eggs and slices of pork roll. It is heartier than pho and richer than hu tieu.

The flavour comes from a simple pork bone stock boosted with fried prawn shells and seasoned with fish sauce. If you have made bun rieu, you will know the sweet crab flavour, but this soup is all about the chewy noodles.

Tips for the best result

Fry the prawn shells and heads before adding them to the stock. That is where the deep seafood flavour comes from.
Cook the noodles separately. Tapioca noodles shed a lot of starch and make the broth gluey if cooked in it.
Add the starch slurry slowly while stirring. The broth should be silky, not gloopy.

Substitutions

Noodles: fresh banh canh noodles are in the fridge at Vietnamese grocers. Thick udon noodles are a good swap.
Crab: tinned crab meat or crab sticks work for a weeknight version.
Pork roll: leave it out or use fish balls.

Storage

Store the broth for up to 3 days in the fridge, with the noodles kept separately. Reheat the broth gently and cook or refresh the noodles in boiling water.