Banh Canh Tom Cua Recipe | Instant Pot | Vietnamese Noodle Soup

Banh Canh Tom Cua is a one of my favorite Vietnamese noodle soup. This Vietnamese Shrimp and Crab Udon Noodle Soup Recipe is my simple and upgraded version of this soup.

The different regions in Vietnam have different methods and recipe for this dish. Not only does Vietnam have different accent, and climate, but when it comes to the North, Mid, and South region, the taste preference for each region differs as well.

This Banh Canh Tom Cua is more of the mid and southern region of Vietnam. Though in the states, the ingredients used might be bit different compared to the authentic dish in Vietnam.

What Crab To Use For Banh Canh Tom Cua?

In Vietnam, they use fresh water crabs to make the broth. Fresh crab inners along with more complicated methods to put this dish together. However, in the States, there are lots of ready to use, high quality, products to substitute many of the ingredients in the original recipe.

In this recipe, there\’s no need to use whole live crabs, nor make your own udon noodles by hand. Using a pressure cooker/instant pot, the broth quick to make and is super flavorful. The soft shell crab is a major upgrade to this dish. You can also use King Crab for this dish instead of the canned crab meat that I used in this recipe.

Vietnamese Banh Canh or Udon Noodles?

This somewhat reminds me of Japanese Curry Udon or Japanese Dipping Ramen. The consistency of the broth at least… not flavor wise. Vietnamese flavors have a more complex spice compared to the light and clean flavor of Japanese Cuisine. Udon noodles are made from wheat noodles, whilst Vietnamese Banh Canh noodles are made a few different ways. Either from rice, potato starch, wheat, and tapioca. Each with its own bouncy texture and flavors. I used Banh Canh Trong for this recipe.

While there are a few different Banh Canh, this is my favorite! Maybe because it is a seafood dish? (I love seafood). The thicken broth makes it stick to the noodles which helps add more seafood flavor to tie everything together nicely.

The thickness of the broth is supposed to be from hand made noodles which are added directly to the broth to cook. Along with the flour from the noodles which makes the broth thick. But since we got pre made noodles, adding tapioca or cornstarch mixture into the broth to thicken it is one of the cooking hacks.

Let me know how this recipe turns out for you! How does it compare to the ones you had before?

Happy cooking!
Chef Q