Bánh Canh Cua Giò Heo

If you are familiar with Udon noodles, Bánh Canh Cua Giò Heo is a similar version. Bánh Canh Cua Giò Heo can be translated to Bánh Canh Crab Pork Feet. Don't let the name fools you. I promise you it tastes and smells delightful. 


Udon is a type of thick wheat-flour noodle. Bánh Canh can be made by rice flour and tapioca flour. Tapioca flour is very familiar in Vietnamese cuisine. It is used to thicken soup, broth and sometimes used in stir-fry to give it a thick consistency. Depending on what type of noodle dish it is, the rice flour and tapioca flour portions will vary proportionally.  For example, in Bánh Canh, [I] prefer mine to be a bit chewy, so I added a good amount of tapioca flour. 


Like any type of Vietnamese soup, the broth is crucial. I spent roughly 3hrs the night before preparing the broth and Bánh Canh. I decided to roll the dough and make some home made Bánh Canh myself. ^_~ 

Handmade Bánh Canh recipe:


Ingredients: 

• 2 cups rice flour
• 1 cup tapioca flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cups hot water

 

Directions: 

1. In a large cooking bowl, add the rice flour, tapioca flour and salt. Mix all three components thoroughly. 
2. Add the hot water, slowly, into the same bowl. Start by adding 1/2 cup, mix with the wooden spoon, then add another 1/2 cup... mix... until you achieved a dough consistency. If it looks anything like pizza dough then you're done.
3. With a dry hand, rub some rice flour on a wooden cutting board or flat, clean working surface, where you can roll the dough out on.
4. Rub some rice flour on your hands. Pick the dough out from the bowl, place it on the board and start kneading the dough. CAUTION. The dough IS hot. 
5. Use a pizza slicer, slice 3 inches of the dough. Approximate it.
6. Use a dough roller, roll the dough vertically and then horizontally to spread the flatten the dough. 
7. Use the pizza slicer, slice the dough vertically into long strands.
8. When ready to use, in a hot boiling pot, add the Bánh Canh (the strands from step 7). Wait until the Bánh Canh floats or when it turns clear. It takes roughly a minute or 2. 

Homemade pork broth recipe: 

Ingredients:

• 1 tray of pork feet
• 1 tray of pork neck bone
• 1 white Asian radish
• 1 whole purple onion (white onion is okay too)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• water

Directions:

1. In a large stew pot, add 2 gallons of tap water and 1 teaspoon of salt. Allow it to boil at high heat.
2. While waiting for the water to come to a boil, get the pork neck bone and feet ready by rinsing them through water a few times to get rid of the blood residue. To do so, first place the neck bone and the feet into a large bowl. Add warm water. With your bare hands, clean the bones and feet through water. Repeat 2x, then leave them on a strainer to dry.
3.  When the water came to a boil, add the pork feet and neck bone. Allow the water to boil once again before turning down the heat. Let it simmer for another 20 - 30 minutes or until the pork feet are cooked.
4. Remove the pork feet. Leave the neck bone in the water to continue cooking while you clean the pork feet again.
5. Clean the pork feet under running water again. After that much cooking, you'll notice there are some gunk on the feet. In order to achieve a clear broth, bones and feet must be cleaned thoroughly throughout the cooking process. 
6. Take the neck bones out and clean it under running water again.
7. Turn off the heat. Strain the broth into another large pot. 
8. Place the pork neck bone and feet back into the broth. 
9. Slice the onion in four and place it into the broth. Skin and cut the white Asian radish into quarters, add it into the broth. Let the broth cook for another 10 - 20 minutes.

** In between cooking, spoon out out the gunk that floats on the surface. It helps keep the broth from turning opaque.