BÁNH CANH GHẸ | Thick noodle soup with crab

Preparing the Ingredients

Clean the blue crabs thoroughly, cut off the legs, remove the shells and set aside any crab roe separately if present.

Remove the crab meat, then season it lightly with salt and pepper. Leave to rest for about 25 to 30 minutes so that it absorbs the flavours.

Trim the roots from the spring onions, rinse them, then finely slice them.

Peel the shallots, lightly crush them, then finely chop them.

Pick the tender leaves from the Vietnamese coriander (rau răm), rinse them, then finely chop them.

Rinse the fresh coriander, remove the roots if necessary, then leave it to drain well.

Transfer the dough to a piping bag. Cut the tip of the bag according to the desired thickness: a smaller opening will produce thinner noodles, while a wider opening will create thicker noodles.

Bring a large saucepan of water to the boil. Gently squeeze the piping bag so that the bánh canh noodles fall directly into the boiling water.

If you have a large amount of dough, work in 2 or 3 batches to prevent the noodles from sticking together.

Cook until the noodles rise to the surface, then remove them with a slotted spoon and drain thoroughly.

Tip: You can rinse them briefly under cool water after cooking to stop the cooking process and help prevent them from sticking together.

Add 200 ml coconut milk and stir gently.

Mix a little tapioca starch with cold water, then gradually pour it into the broth while stirring, until the broth becomes slightly creamy and thickened.

Taste and adjust the seasoning if necessary, then remove from the heat.