Vietnamese Crab & Shrimp Tapioca Noodle Soup (Bánh Canh Cua Recipe)
A simple recipe for a soup that is thick and noodle-like, made of pork, crab, shrimp as well as tapioca noodles.
Ingredients
Broth
- 3 lbs of pork shoulder with bones, cut into pieces
- 1. Yellow onion Yellow onion
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 daikon
- 1 Tbsp of fish sauce
- 10 dry shrimp
- 1 tbsp poultry broth powder
- 1 Cup Tapioca Starch
Toppings
- A quarter cup of the crab's meat
- 1/2 lb shrimp
- 2 tbsp fried shallots
- 2 packages banh canh
- 2 stalks of of green onions minced
Annatto Oil
- 1 teaspoon
- 1 Tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 tsp. Annatto seeds
Instructions
Prep broth ingredients
- Broil the oven then bake for about 20 mins, until it's charred on its exterior. Set aside.
- Dried shrimp should be soaked in water for 10 mins. Set aside.
- Cook the pork shoulder in a broth to wash the meat. Place the pork into an empty soup pan. Fill the pot with water until it is able to cover the pork. Bring it to a boil and simmer for about ten minutes. Remove the pork and pour out the rest of your water. Clean the pot, then run the pork under the water to wash off any gross parts. Return the pork to the pot of soup that has been cleaned.
Make the soup
- Now it's time to make your broth. Add the onion that has been broiled and shrimp, the daikon, shrimp that have been dried, along with salt, to your pot. Pour in the water until it covers the entire ingredients. Bring the soup to a boil, then allow to simmer for approximately 45 minutes. While simmering, be sure you check the soup at least every 15 minutes, to remove any impurities.
- While the soup is simmering cook your toppings. Bring your shrimp to a boil and then banh canh. Set aside.
- After 45 minutes of simmering after which the meat will be cooked. Remove the meat from the bones, and then add the bones back into the pot. The meat is cut into pieces that are bite-sized and place aside.
- Mix in the fish sauce, as well as chicken broth powder. Let it cook for 30 minutes.
- While the broth simmers you can make the Annatto oil. Combine the annatto seeds and vegetable oils in a saucepan and let it simmer for about a minute until the oil begins to turn orange. Place the dish on a plate to cool.
- Make a slurry of tapioca starch in 1/3 cup water. When the soup is finished simmering and thickening, add the tapioca slurry. The soup should simmer for 5 minutes until it begins to increase the thickness.
- Then, add the oil of annatto, and then your soup is complete.
Mix up your bowls of noodles
- Now is the an opportunity to mix up your noodles bowls together. Put noodles in a bowl. Serve with pork shoulder and shrimp, crab meat cooked shallots, fried shallots and minced green onions . Enjoy!
Notes
- How to cook the pork Clean and clear broth is made by boiling the pork. Pork is full of gross pieces that are released when you begin boiling it. The broth turns dark and unappetizing. To cook pork, mix both water and pork in a saucepan and bring it to a boil. Let it simmer for 10 minutes, then remove the pot from the heat. Take the pork pieces out and drain the liquid. Return the pork pieces to the pot, and cover with fresh water. Make sure you clean the pot prior to adding the pork since the gross pieces will remain in the pot.
- Don't overuse water while creating the soup If you use excessive amounts of water while making the soup, it can dilute the flavors of all ingredients. Be sure to add just enough water to over the ingredients.
- Keep your broth at a slow simmer. Once you begin the process of simmering your broth, be sure that the broth doesn't get to an amount that it begins boiling once more. If the broth gets too hot, it will result in cloudy broth. often, it can result in a cloudy and sour broth.