Cherry & Dennis Helper Habitat
Vietnamese Bánh Canh Cua Crab Thick Noodles
越式蟹肉粗米線
Recipe overview
Vietnamese thick rice-tapioca noodles with crab, shrimp and lightly thickened pork-bone broth, served as a noodle meal.
01
Ingredients
Main ingredients
- 600 g fresh Vietnamese thick rice-tapioca banh canh noodles
- 250 g cooked crab meat
- 12 cooked shrimp
- 600 g pork bones
- 1 small daikon
- 1 onion
- 2 scallions
- 1 small bunch cilantro
- 1 lime
- 2.5 litres water for broth
- 2 cloves garlic
Broth seasoning
- 2 tsp fish sauce
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp annatto oil
Tapioca slurry
- 30 g tapioca starch
- 80 ml cold water
Oil for sautéing
- 1 tbsp neutral oil
02
Tools
- large stockpot
- fine strainer
- colander
- small frying pan
- ladle
- knife
- cutting board
03
Steps
Step 1
Parboil bones
Boil pork bones with a little salt about eight minutes; discard water and rinse.
Step 2
Prepare vegetables
Peel onion and daikon; cut daikon large and chop scallions and cilantro.
Step 3
Simmer stock
Clean pot; add bones, onion, daikon and water, boil, then simmer one hour.
Step 4
Strain stock
Lift out bones, onion and daikon; reserve cooked meat from the bones if desired.
Step 5
Season stock
Add fish sauce, sugar and salt; tint with a little annatto oil.
Step 6
Mix slurry
Whisk tapioca starch with cold water until smooth.
Step 7
Thicken broth
Stir hot broth while slowly adding slurry; simmer five minutes.
Step 8
Cook thick noodles
Cook Vietnamese thick rice-tapioca noodles separately by packet; drain into four bowls.
Step 9
Fry garlic
Heat oil in a small pan and fry minced garlic until fragrant without burning.
Step 10
Warm crab
Add already cooked crab meat and sauté just until heated through.
Step 11
Heat shrimp
Warm cooked, peeled and deveined shrimp in the hot broth.
Step 12
Assemble bowls
Ladle thick broth and cooked shrimp over noodles; add crab, scallions, cilantro and lime.
Common mistakes
- Thin vermicelli loses the defining thick noodle texture.
- Pour slurry slowly to avoid lumps.
Tips
Use cooked crab and shrimp; reheat briefly to avoid tough seafood.
