Vermicelli and Sour Crab Soup

Hanoi has many delicious delicacies that once tried one will never forget their distinct Vietnamese taste. One of them is Bun rieu cua (vermicelli and sour crab soup), a favourite dish of Hanoians.

Vermicelli and sour crab soup is not too difficult to cook, however to make the dish distinctive it requires delicate processing skills. There are many stalls selling the dish located on small streets, small lanes or even in a corner of a market, but it is those that prepare the most attractive soup that have the most customers.  

The dish is very eye-catching thanks to the yellow colour of crab water, crab-roe and the red of tomatoes. For vermicelli and sour crab soup the broth is the most important that is processed from fresh field crabs. It requires many stages, from grinding and filtering to cooking. Additionally, it is necessary to select white and soft vermicelli and raw vegetables to serve with the dish.

The delicious dish must have the sweet taste of field crabs, sour of tomatoes and tamarind and the aroma of basil. Writer Bang Son, who specializes in writing about Hanoi delicacies, wrote: “A simple bow of vermicelli and sour crab soup will follow us for many years and become a memory about the beloved countryside. Nobody knows when the popular dish became a favourite of people in urban areas”.

Source: VNP