Vietnamese Tomato Crab Soup (Canh riêu cua)
From the mini crabs in the paddy fields across the country, Vietnamese people have made various delicious dishes. Besides Vietnamese Crab Noodle (Bún riêu cua), Vietnamese tomato crab soup (canh riêu cua) is a rustic dish served with rice in everyday life. Let’s discover how to cook it.
Table of Contents
What is freshwater mini crab (cua đồng)
We all know that Vietnam is a tropical country and one of the largest rice exporting countries in the world. Rice is grown all over the country, and the ripe rice fields are a beautiful image of my hometown that I always love. Those paddy fields are also the perfect environment for freshwater crabs, or cua đồng in Vietnamese, to grow. Therefore, Vietnamese people are so familiar with freshwater mini crabs and turn them into many delicious dishes.
So, what are freshwater mini crabs, or cua đồng? They are small crabs living in freshwater areas, from plains to midlands and mountainous regions. Because they are quite small, people often pound or grind the crabs finely, then mix them with water, filter the water, and remove the hard shells. The remaining liquid is then used in cooking.
How does the Vietnamese tomato crab soup taste?
According to traditional Eastern medicine, freshwater field crabs have a cooling property. Indeed, tomato crab soup is a great dish for summer because of its fresh taste from both fresh tomato and crabs.
My family likes to enjoy crab soup with rice all year round, especially on hot summer days to cool down.
Ingredients of Vietnamese tomato crab soup
The ingredients of this dish are very simple with tomato, freshwater mini crabs, and a handful of spring onions and coriander to garnish. For 4 people, you can follow the recipe below:
- 300g (10.5 oz) freshwater mini crabs
- 700ml (23.7 fl oz) water
- 1 small shallot
- 3 big tomatoes
- 2 tbsp cooking oil
- 1-2 tsp salt
- A handful of chopped spring onion and coriander
Cooking Instruction
In general, half of the cooking process of tomato crab soup is like Vietnamese crab noodle soup yet simpler and quicker. Let’s start:
Step 1. Preparing crab mixture
- After washing & removing crab shells and aprons (refer: how to clean and prepare small crabs), blend them with water and a pinch of salt. If you buy frozen crabs, they are ready to cook so you don’t need to do this step. A blender will help to save lots of your time; otherwise, you can also follow the traditional way by pounding the crab in a mortar. Filter the crab mixture to remove the crab shells.
Step 2. Stir-frying tomato
- Wash and cut tomatoes into wedges. Slice shallot thinly.
- In a pot, stir fry tomatoes with shallots. If any, add crab tomalley (so-called crab fat, crab roe) to stir fry together with tomatoes, until all are cooked well.
Step 3. Cooking the crab soup
- Pour the crab mixture into the pot and lower the heat to medium-low. Don’t stir and wait until the mixture starts to boil so that the crab paste can form into lumps and float on the surface.
- When serving Vietnamese crab soup, gently scoop the crab paste out of the pot and transfer to the bowl, then the rest. Garnish the soup with chopped spring onion and coriander. Done!
Possible alternatives for tomato in this dish
Besides tomato, we can cook crab soup with many more vegetables. Some common alternatives are jute leaves (rau đay), malabar spinach (mồng tơi), or sponge gourd (mướp). These are all familiar ingredients in Vietnamese cuisine.
Can canned crab paste replace fresh crabs?
Canned crab paste is a great alternative for fresh mini crabs to make tomato crab soup or crab noodle. However, from my experience, the flavor and taste of tomato crab soup made from canned crab paste is quite different from those made with fresh crabs. It’s because fresh crabs bring a distinctive flavor and aroma to the soup base.
Vietnamese Tomato Crab Soup (Canh riêu cua)
Ingredients
- 300g (10.5 oz) freshwater mini crabs
- 700ml (23.7 fl oz) water
- 1 small shallot
- 3 big tomatoes
- 2 tbsp cooking oil
- 1-2 tsp salt
- A handful of chopped spring onion and coriander
Instructions
Step 1. Preparing crab mixture
- After washing & removing crab shells and aprons (refer: how to clean and prepare small crabs), blend them with water and a pinch of salt. If you buy frozen crabs, they are ready to cook so you don’t need to do this step. A blender will help to save lots of your time; otherwise, you can also follow the traditional way by pounding the crab in a mortar. Filter the crab mixture to remove the crab shells.
Step 2. Stir-frying tomato
- Wash and cut tomatoes into wedges. Slice shallot thinly.
- In a pot, stir fry tomatoes with shallots. If any, add crab tomalley (so-called crab fat, crab roe) to stir fry together with tomatoes, until all are cooked well.
Step 3. Cooking the crab soup
- Pour the crab mixture into the pot and lower the heat to medium-low. Don’t stir and wait until the mixture starts to boil so that the crab paste can form into lumps and float on the surface.
- When serving Vietnamese crab soup, gently scoop the crab paste out of the pot and transfer to the bowl, then the rest. Garnish the soup with chopped spring onion and coriander. It’s done!
Nutrition
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Other Vietnamese Soup Recipe
- Vietnamese Stuffed Bitter Melon Soup (Canh khổ qua dồn thịt)
- Vietnamese papery shrimp and tomato soup (Canh cà chua nấu tép)
- Green papaya soup with sparerib (Canh đu đủ nấu sườn)
- Vietnamese Clam Soup (Canh nghêu thì là)
- Kohlrabi soup with shrimp
- Tofu and Tomato Egg Drop Soup
- Vietnamese Pumpkin Soup
Other Recipe with Crabs
- Vietnamese Crab Soup (Súp cua)
- Vietnamese Crab Noodle (Bún riêu cua)
- Vietnamese Vegan Crab Noodle (Bún riêu chay)