- Nicola
Vietnamese Tapioca Noodle in Crab Soup
Updated: Apr 15, 2020
Sorry that the last few posts were not as interesting but I was busy watching Stranger Things. I actually had not watched the first season but I finally decided to give it a try after seeing so many snapchat posts about it. 1 week of watching (after baby fell asleep) we finally finished and anxiously waiting for the 3rd Season. What I thought… Some maybe SPOILERS — Eleven reminded me of Elfen Lied, 2nd Season: Nine-Tailed Beast and Jinchūriki.
Back to the recipe, we are finally presenting Vietnamese Tapioca Noodle in Crab Soup, it took a bit longer due to the building blocks, the Tapioca Noodle – BÁNH CANH BỘT LỌC, the Perfect Basic Pork Stock, and the Basic Shrimp Paste, but we are finally here.
WHAT IS MUSHROOM SEASONING AND WHERE TO BUY IT?
Mushroom seasoning is made of mushroom powder, salt, and mushroom extract. I opt to use this instead of Chicken Bouillon Powder because I prefer not to use MSG in my cooking if I can. The Mushroom Seasoning was purchased at a Southeast Asian market in Vancouver British Columbia called 88 Supermarket, but it can also be found at large Asian grocers. There are many different manufacturers for this seasoning.
Vietnamese Tapioca Noodle in Crab Soup
Serves 7
Ingredients 4.5 Litres of BASIC PORK STOCK 1 Tablespoon Mushroom Seasoning to taste 1 Tablespoon Salt, or to taste 1 1/2 Tablespoon Rock Sugar (1 oz) 1 Tablespoon Fish Sauce, or to taste 4 Tablespoon Crab Paste in Soy Bean Oil 1lb SHRIMP PASTE
Crab Meat Mixture 1 Cup Cooked Crab Meat (or steam 2 crabs and take out all the meat but the ones in the pinchers) 1 Tablespoon Oil + 1 Teaspoon Annatto Powder or Paprika (or 1 Tablespoon ANNATTO OIL) ) 1 Shallot, sliced 2 Garlic cloves, minced
Assembly 6 Servings of TAPIOCA NOODLE (BÁNH CANH)) Sliced Vietnamese Ham - Cha Chien (Optional) Cilantro, Chopped Scallions, Chopped Fried Shallots Black Pepper Thai Chili, Diced Lime Thai Mint Basil
Directions:
First, bring the pork stock to a boil, then lower to simmer.
Next season the stock with the mushroom seasoning, salt, rock sugar, crab paste, and fish sauce. Taste and adjust to your preference.
While the stock is simmering, prepare the crab mixture.
If you like, you can BREAK APART A CRAB or use crab already de-shelled. I decided to use fresh crab. Steam the crab for 10 minutes until it is completely cooked. Remove almost all the meat from the shell and place into a bowl, also keep a few legs and pinchers to place whole in the noodle bowl. Make sure not to discard the crab juices, as this is flavour that can be added to the stock. Pour this juice into the stock.
In a skillet on medium heat, heat the oil and the annatto powder/paprika, then add the shallots and garlic. Fry until fragrant about a two minutes.
Next, add in crabmeat, and then season with a pinch of salt and pepper. Cook for 2 minutes.
Pour the crab meat mixture into the stock. Make sure to spoon some stock into the skillet to get all the flavour off the pan, you don’t want to miss any of the goodness.
Next, add the shrimp paste to the stock a spoon at a time. The paste will float to the top when they are completely cooked, about 3 minutes.
Cook the tapioca noodles directly in the stock. Cook for about 3 to 5 minutes until the noodles float and are translucent.
To serve: Spoon the noodles into the bowl. Scoop some of the crab meat on top, and then place some shrimp balls, some slices of the Vietnamese ham (optional-step), the crab claws if you have it on hand. Top off with green onions, cilantro, and fried shallots. Ladle some stock into the bowl. Dash of black pepper. Serve with lime wedges, thai chili, thai mint basil if preferred.