Banh Canh

• total time: 1 hour 15 minutes

Ingredients

BROTH

6 lbs pork bone (pork riblets or spare ribs work as well)

1 large onion or 2 small, peeled

8 quarts water

1 ½ TBSP salt

CRAB MIXTURE

¼ cup anatto seed oil*

1 bulb minced garlic

1 shallot, minced

2x 14oz containers of frozen crab meat, strained*

2 tsp paprika

I used 2 containers of frozen crab meat because I wanted some as a topping and some inside my broth.

to make annatto seed oil, heat up 1 cup of oil (I used avocado oil) and 1 TBSP of annatto seed. Cook until oil starts to bubble/ boil and then immediately strain seeds out. Note: be careful not to burn this because the seeds will become bitter and so will your oil. This step does not take long so do not leave unattended. This is just for color so if you don’t care about your broth being red/ orange, you can skip this step.

SLURRY/ THICKEN YOUR SOUP

1 cup cornstarch + 1 cup water, mix well

ADDITIONAL INGREDIENTS

Banh canh noodles

Scallion, topping

Cilantro, topping

Fried shallots, topping

Lime

Sambal/ garlic chili paste

Fish sauce, to season

Salt, to season

Sugar, to season

Chicken boullion, to season

MSG, to season

Directions

In a clean pot, add par boiled pork bones, 1 onion and 1.5 TBSP salt. Turn on heat and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat and simmer for ~1 hour. Note: during this process, you might get some foam, impurities that float to the top, make sure you skim this out. Doing this will allow your broth to be nice and clear

While your broth is simmering, make your crab mixture. Heat up ¼ cup of annatto seed oil and sauté minced garlic and shallots. Once fragrant, add your crab mixture and 2 tsp paprika. Sauté for 5-10 minutes. After 5-10 minutes, remove and set aside. Note: I used frozen crab but you can use any kind (canned crab, fresh crab, etc)

I am using large prawns/ shrimp so make sure to clean these accordingly. I like to cut off the antenna and legs.

By now, your broth should be done. Remove the onions and discard. Remove pork bones/ribs and reserve as a topping. Cook shrimp/ prawns in your broth and remove to serve as a topping later when you assemble your bowl.

Check comments for the rest of the instructions)