Seafood lovers will surely enjoy this Vietnamese Banh Canh Cua Tom served in thick umami-rich broth topped with succulent shrimp, crabs, shrimp balls. I’m sharing the easy version too.
I’m seriously a noodle addict like beyond help. Actually, I don’t want to be helped! It doesn’t matter if it’s winter of summer, I always make room for noodle soup. Perhaps I grew up in a tropical country where it’s warm all year long and yet people are slurping noodles while sweat is rolling down their faces and backs. Anyway, another delicious Vietnamese noodle soup I think everyone must try is this banh canh cua tom.
WHAT IS BANH CANH ? Banh canh is a thick noodle that is made with tapioca and rice flour combination. Depending on the ratio of tapioca to rice flour, more tapioca flour will give you a more chewy texture while rice flour will give a more softer noodles. It looks like udon, but udon is made with wheat flour. Banh canh certainly reminds me of the khao piak sen noodles I made a while ago. Banh canh is readily available at Asian grocery stores. If you want to make a fresh one, use this khao piak sen recipe.
BANH CANH CUA TOM Cua means crab and tom means shrimp in Vietnamese. You probably have heard of banh canh cua, that is without the shrimp. Simple as that ? 
THIS BANH CANH CUA TOM RECIPE IS SIMPLIFIED BUT STILL DELICIOUS I said simplified because I did not make the pork stock from scratch, I did not make the shrimp/prawn balls from scratch, and I also did not make the banh canh from scratch. I can tell you though, it is still loaded with delicious seafood and soup. How I simplified the recipe: 1. I use chicken stock 2. I use store-bought shrimp balls 3. I use store-bought crab paste 4. I use store-bought banch canh So, my Vietnamese friends, please don’t bite my head off for taking some short cuts ? I’m pretty happy with the result without having to slave at the kitchen all day. Though, some days I do love to subject myself to that kind of torture!!
[disclosure] TIPS FOR MAKING GOOD BANH CANH CUA TOM 1. Good quality seafood That goes without saying since the crab and the shrimp are the stars in this dish. Now, I didn’t make the shrimp balls from scratch and I bought the frozen ones. Make sure you get good-quality ones 2. Crab paste The crab paste adds that extra depth of flavor to the soup base. 3. Annatto oil The annatto oil adds the rich orangey hue to the soup base. It’s not hard to prepare. I’ve seen people using paprika powder to replace annatto oil in this recipe. It’s up to you 4. Cook the noodles only when ready to serve This is especially important if you use fresh banh canh because you cook the noodles in the soup directly. So make sure you only cook when you are ready to serve. The longer the noodle sits in the soup, the softer it will get and turn into mush
