2 Easy Ways to Make Delicious Crab Noodle Soup at Home

Bánh canh cua biển và bánh canh cua đồng

Two Simple Ways to Make Delicious Crab Noodle Soup at Home

Crab noodle soup (Bánh canh cua) is a beloved dish for many. The chewy texture of the noodles combined with the sweet and savory crab broth creates an irresistible flavor. Let’s make this simple dish together!

1. Seafood Crab Noodle Soup

Prep Time:20 minutes
Cook Time:25 minutes
Difficulty:Medium

Ingredients for Seafood Crab Noodle Soup Serves 4

Sea Crab 3 Straw Mushrooms 100g Pork Shank 1/4 kg Pork Bones 1 kg Quail Eggs 15 Tapioca Starch 1/2 kg Rice Flour 1/2 kg Seasoning 10g(Salt/Onion/Pepper/Fish Sauce/Cooking Oil)

Equipment

How to Choose Fresh Ingredients

How to choose fresh, meaty crab:

When selecting crab, gently squeeze the shell and apron to check its firmness. A firm crab indicates plenty of meat. A soft shell suggests less meat.
Gently squeeze the leg joints near the crab’s shell. A crab that struggles indicates it is lively and likely to be tasty.
Check the color of the knuckle area on the crab’s legs. A reddish-pink or deep pink color usually means the crab is full of meat.

How to choose a good pork shank:

Choose a hind shank as they generally have more meat, are tender yet not greasy, and offer higher nutritional value compared to front shanks.
Press the meat to test its elasticity. Firmness and good elasticity indicate freshness.
Check the hoof for completeness and observe its color. A light pink color and the absence of foul odor indicate a quality shank.

Nguyên liệu món ăn bánh canh cua biển và bánh canh cua đồng

How to Make Seafood Crab Noodle Soup

1. Making the Noodles

Combine rice flour, tapioca starch, a pinch of salt, and 500ml of hot water in a bowl. Knead until smooth and no longer sticky. Roll out thinly and cut into noodles.

Bring a pot of water to a boil. Add the noodles and cook until they float to the surface. Remove and rinse with cold water.
2. Preparing the Crab

Clean the crab, steam until cooked, and separate the meat and roe. Sauté minced onion in oil, then add crab meat with a little fish sauce and pepper.

Sauté the crab roe with dried onion separately.
3. Preparing Other Ingredients

Wash and soak straw mushrooms in salt water. Halve them lengthwise and sauté briefly.

Boil the pork shank until cooked, then slice. Boil quail eggs, peel, and set aside.
4. Making the Broth

Blanch the pork bones in boiling water, rinse, and simmer in cold water to create the broth. Sauté onions and add the bone broth.

Season to taste. Once gently simmering, add the straw mushrooms.

Mix a little tapioca starch with water and slowly add it to the broth, stirring constantly to thicken.

Place noodles in bowls, top with pork shank, crab meat, roe, and quail eggs. Ladle broth over and garnish with green onions, cilantro, and pepper. Enjoy!
5. Finished Dish

This fragrant and delicious crab noodle soup, with its sweet and savory broth, chewy noodles, and tender crab meat, is sure to please.

2. Freshwater Crab Noodle Soup

Prep Time:30 minutes
Cook Time:45 minutes
Difficulty:Medium

Ingredients for Freshwater Crab Noodle Soup Serves 3

Noodles 300g Pork Ribs 200g Ground Freshwater Crab 200g Shrimp 3 Pineapple 1/4 Egg 1 Garlic 4 cloves Tomatoes 2 Green Onions 5g Herbs 5g Seasoning To taste(Salt/Sugar/Seasoning/Pepper/MSG)

Equipment

How to Choose Fresh Ingredients

How to choose fresh freshwater crab:

You can buy pre-ground crab meat or buy whole crabs and grind them at home for better hygiene!

Choose crabs that are dull gray, with a brighter, shinier shell.
Fresh crab meat is firm. Gently squeeze the crab legs; indentations indicate less meat.
Buy crabs at the beginning or end of the lunar month; mid-month, they often molt and have less meat.
For richer flavor, choose female crabs with more roe. For more meat, choose male crabs.

How to choose fresh shrimp:

Color: Fresh shrimp have transparent, light-colored shells. Avoid shrimp with cloudy shells, black legs or heads, as they are old and not tasty.
Appearance: Fresh shrimp are straight, with tails neatly curled. Heads and legs are firmly attached. Shrimp with detached heads or curved bodies are spoiled.
Texture: Firm shrimp are fresh; soft shrimp are spoiled.
Smell: Fresh shrimp have a distinct seafood smell, not a foul or fishy odor.

Nguyên liệu món ăn bánh canh cua biển và bánh canh cua đồng

Equipment

Pot, pan, bowls, etc.

How to Make Freshwater Crab Noodle Soup

1. Preparing Ingredients

Wash and cut tomatoes into wedges. Peel and core pineapple; slice thinly.

Peel and devein shrimp. Rinse pork ribs with salt water to remove odor, then rinse with clean water and cut into bite-sized pieces.
How to quickly clean and devein shrimp:
- Method 1: Peel shrimp from the legs to the tail; hold the last segment and pull out the vein. Use a knife to slit the back to expose the vein, then remove with a toothpick.
- Method 2: After washing the shrimp, insert a toothpick into the neck and pull out the vein.
- Method 3: Wash the shrimp and use scissors to cut along the back to expose the vein; rinse thoroughly.
2. Preparing and Separating Crab Roe

Add a pinch of salt to the ground crab meat, stir well, and strain to separate the liquid. Bring the liquid to a boil to separate the crab roe. Skim off the roe and set aside. Reserve the liquid for the broth.
Tips for grinding crab at home:
- Clean crabs by soaking in water with salt for about 10 minutes.
- Remove the shells and discard the aprons. Set aside the roe.
- Grind the crabs with a little water in a mortar and pestle or a food processor. Add salt to help the roe coagulate when cooking.
- Strain thoroughly, keeping only the liquid and discarding the solids.
3. Sautéing Ingredients

In a pan, sauté garlic until fragrant. Add pork ribs and sauté until browned. Remove.

Sauté more garlic and tomatoes until softened and pulpy. Remove from heat.
4. Making the Broth

In a pot, bring the crab liquid to a boil. Add the pork ribs, tomatoes, pineapple, 1.5 tsp seasoning, 1/2 tsp MSG, and 1.5 tsp sugar. Simmer over low heat until the ribs are tender.
5. Finishing Touches

Place noodles in bowls. Add pork ribs, shrimp, and egg. Top with broth and crab roe. Garnish with chopped green onions.
6. Finished Dish

Enjoy the chewy noodles, tender pork ribs, sweet shrimp, and rich crab broth. The slightly tangy and sweet broth is simply irresistible.