Vietnamese Crab Udon / Bánh Canh Cua
I have such fond memories of bánh canh cua from my childhood because growing up, my church would host a summer festival every year called hội chợ hè, where community organizations and local businesses would set up various vendor stalls to raise money for the church. The best stall, though? It was the one my
- Prep time
- 1 hr
- Cook time
- 1 hr 30 min
- Yield
- 6 servings
- Difficulty
- MEDIUM
Ingredients
Quantities are shown as originally provided.
- 2 lbs pork neck bones
- 2 lbs pork belly
- 2 oz Dried Squid
- 1/2 cup Dried Shrimp
- 6 quarts water
- 1 yellow onion
- 1 small daikon
- 1 inch nub of rock sugar
- 3 tbsp msg
- 4 tbsp fish sauce
- 3 tbsp annatto seed oil
- 1 lb shrimp
- 1 tbsp annatto seed oil
- 1 tbsp garlic
- 1 tbsp fish sauce
- 1/2 tbsp sugar
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 2 can quail eggs
- same seasoning as shrimp
- 16 oz imitation crab
- same seasoning as quail eggs
- 16 oz lump crab meat
- same seasoning as imitation crab
- 3 packages bánh canh noodles
- Green onions
- Fried shallots
- Limes
- Thai chili
- Black pepper
Instructions
- 1
Parboil pork neck bones and pork belly, then rinse and clean the pork under cold water to remove porky odor
- 2
To a clean stockpot, add six quarts of water and bring up to a boil; add cleaned pork, rehydrated dried squid, and shrimp. Add a whole yellow onion, and a small daikon
- 3
Bring up to a boil, skim off any impurities, and let it simmer for one hour
- 4
After an hour, remove the onion and daikon so that they don’t disintegrate into the broth and to help keep the broth clean. Then let that simmer for another hour, and remove pork hocks and pork butt. Wrap the pork butt in plastic wrap and then put it into the fridge to cool down
- 5
Season broth with annatto seed oil, rock sugar, fish sauce, MSG, and salt to taste
- 6
In a frying pan, sauté shrimp in annatto seed oil and season with minced garlic, fish sauce, sugar, and black pepper
- 7
Repeat this step with quail eggs, imitation crab, and lump crab meat
- 8
In another pot, add the broth and cook the bánh canh noodles directly in it; this will add a bit of body and thickness to the broth. If you prefer to keep the broth light, cook the noodles in a separate pot in boiling water instead
- 9
Assemble your bowl by adding noodles, toppings, broth, and garnishes