Banh Canh Cua is a traditional Vietnamese noodle soup consisting of large rice noodles & crab. The soup (canh) is usually made with a pork broth, but as I’m a Pescetarian, I create my own broth that requires honey, an Asian pear, ginger, & anchovies. Crab meat (cua) in a plastic container that’s refrigerated in your local grocery store works well without needing to crack open a live crab. Banh Canh Cua is one of my absolute favorite Vietnamese noodle soups & it goes well with fish balls & fish cake (kamaboko). All of these ingredients you’ll be able to find at your a wide variety Asian market.
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Banh Canh Cua
- Total Time: 105
Ingredients
Scale
- 8 oz crab meat
- 2 oz ginger, sliced
- 5 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1 tbsp of olive oil
- 1 small yellow onion, sliced thinly
- 1 Asian pear, sliced
- 10 dried anchovies &/or 2–4 tbsp of fish sauce
- 1–2 tbsp of honey
- 3 tbsp crab paste in soya bean oil
- 10–12 cups of water
- 2 tsp of paprika
- 2 tsp of cayenne pepper
- 3 tsp of sesame oil
- Salt & pepper
- Muslin bag(s)
- Fresh banh canh
- Fish balls, halved if desired
- (optional) Shrimp
- (optional) Kamaboko, sliced
- Cilantro, chopped
- Green onions, chopped
- Lime, sliced
Instructions
- 1. Stuff the pears, anchovies, & ginger in a muslin bag. Bring water in a large pot to a boil & toss the muslin bag to infuse for about an hour on low. Remove the muslin before adding the crab mixture.
- 2. In a mixing bowl, mix together crab, crab paste, paprika, cayenne, a little honey, a pinch or two of pepper, & 1 tsp of sesame oil. Set this aside while you sautée the garlic & onions on medium high heat.
- 3. When the onions have browned a bit, pour in the crab mixture & sautée for about 10 minutes & turn the heat down to medium. Pour this into the large pot of your broth.
- 4. Prepare the noodles as instructed to the package it came in.
- 5. After the crab mix has been stirred into the broth, add the fish balls, & fish cake into the soup. Cook on medium low for about 15 minutes. Taste the broth & add the remaining honey, fish sauce (ponzu sauce or soy sauce work well too), salt, & pepper to taste.
- 6. Ladle the soup into a bowl of freshly prepared noodles & sprinkle the cilantro & scallion (green onions) mix over. Enjoy with some Sriracha & lime!
Notes
- If you’d like to add a more natural spice to it than Sriracha, try chopping some Thai green chilies or habañero & placing them into a separate muslin bag. The longer you seep the chilies, the spicier it’ll be. I’d recommend just seeping it for about 10-15 minutes. Always taste test!
- Prep Time: 30
- Cook Time: 75
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 6
- Calories: 220
- Sugar: 9
- Sodium: 487
- Fat: 8
- Saturated Fat: 1
- Unsaturated Fat: 6
- Trans Fat: 0
- Carbohydrates: 21
- Protein: 18
- Cholesterol: 68
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