What Delicious Dishes Can You Make with Mud Crabs? 11 Nutritious & Tasty Recipes

Field crabs are a rustic, familiar food in Vietnamese family meals, especially in rural areas. Although small, field crabs are extremely rich in calcium, protein, and many nutrients good for health. If you are also wondering what to cook with field crab for your family dinner, let’s follow Ola Squid in this article to explore the list of field crab dishes!

1. What to cook with field crab?

With field crab as the main ingredient, you can prepare many diverse dishes, from soups to dry dishes. Each dish carries a characteristic, rich flavor that goes very well with rice. Here are suggestions for attractive field crab dishes that you should not miss:

1.1. Field crab noodle soup (Bun rieu)

Ingredients:

• 1kg fresh rice noodles
• 500g field crab, 50g dried shrimp
• 100g ground pork, 2 chicken eggs
• 3 pieces of tofu
• Side vegetables: banana blossoms, shredded water spinach, lettuce, bean sprouts
• Tomatoes, green onions, cilantro, garlic, chili
• Vinegar, shrimp paste, sugar, salt, MSG, seasoning powder, fish sauce, oil

How to cook field crab noodle soup:

• Cut tomatoes into wedges, finely chop green onions. Cut tofu into pieces and fry until golden. Wash the crabs, separate the roe. Grind the crab shells, mix with water, and strain to get the crab liquid. Then simmer over medium heat, season with a bit of seasoning powder, MSG, and salt, stirring until the crab meat clusters together, then scoop it out into a bowl.
• Season the crab broth with seasoning powder, sugar, MSG, fish sauce, and salt, adding a bit of shrimp paste for aroma. Next, heat a pan, sauté garlic until fragrant, stir-fry the crab roe (you can add cashew oil), then add a portion of the roe to the pot. Stir-fry the tomatoes until soft and add them to the broth, adjusting the seasoning to taste.
• Soak dried shrimp until soft, grind finely, and mix with ground meat, eggs, garlic, onions, and spices, then steam until cooked and cut into pieces.
• Finally, blanch the noodles, place them in a bowl with crab clusters, egg clusters, tofu, sprinkle with green onions and cilantro, then pour the broth over to enjoy while hot.

1.2. Steamed field crab cake

Ingredients:

• 300g ground field crab meat
• 20g rice flour, 30g dried shrimp
• 10g green onion whites, 3 duck eggs
• 1 teaspoon seasoning powder, 1 teaspoon sugar

How to process steamed field crab cake:

• Soak dried shrimp in warm water until soft, then mince finely. Mix the ground crab meat with water, strain for the liquid, and simmer over medium heat until the crab meat rises, then scoop it out separately.
• Next, separate the eggs into whites and yolks. Mix the crab clusters with egg whites, 1 egg yolk, dried shrimp, minced onion whites, rice flour, sugar, and seasoning powder until smooth.
• Put the mixture in a bowl and steam for about 20 minutes. Continue mixing the 2 remaining yolks with a bit of cashew oil, brush it onto the surface of the cake, and steam for another 10 minutes to cook through and achieve a beautiful color. The crab cake is soft, fragrant, and fatty, delicious served with white rice or spicy soy sauce.

1.3. Field crab soup with vegetables

Ingredients:

• 400g field crab
• 300g mixed greens (amaranth, Malabar spinach, luffa flowers, etc.)
• 3 cloves of garlic, 500g luffa
• Salt, seasoning powder, pepper, cooking oil

How to cook field crab soup:

• Wash the crabs, grind finely, mix with water, and strain carefully to get the crab liquid. Clean the vegetables, soak in salt water, rinse, and drain. Peel the luffa and cut into pieces, then mince the garlic.
• Next, sauté garlic with oil, pour the crab liquid into the pot, add salt, and simmer until the crab meat rises. You can scoop the crab clusters out separately or keep them in the pot.
• Then season with seasoning powder to taste, bring to a boil, and add luffa and vegetables to cook quickly for about 2 minutes. Finally, sprinkle with pepper, turn off the heat, and scoop into a bowl.

1.4. Field crab thick noodle soup (Banh canh)

Ingredients:

• 300g thick rice noodles
• 200g ground field crab, 3 shrimp
• 200g baby pork ribs
• 2 tomatoes, 1/4 pineapple
• 4 cloves of garlic, 1 chicken egg
• Green onions, herbs
• 1.5 tablespoons seasoning powder, 1.5 tablespoons sugar
• 1/2 tablespoon MSG, a little salt and pepper

Detailed guide on how to cook field crab thick noodle soup:

• First, wash tomatoes and cut them into wedges; peel pineapple, wash, and slice. Wash pork ribs with dilute salt water and cut into pieces. Peel shrimp, remove the vein, and wash clean.
• Mix ground crab with water, season lightly with salt, and strain. Boil and scoop the crab clusters out separately, keeping the liquid as broth.
• Then, sauté garlic in a pan, add ribs to stir-fry until firm, and remove to a plate. Continue sautéing garlic and stir-fry tomatoes until soft.
• Take the crab broth from the previous step, add ribs and tomatoes to the pot, then add pineapple, seasoning powder, sugar, MSG, and simmer until ribs are tender. Finally, blanch the thick noodles, put them in a bowl, arrange ribs, shrimp, and egg, pour the broth and crab clusters over, sprinkle green onions, and enjoy.

>> Read more: What to cook with soft-shell crab? 10 delicious and easy dishes with tips for choosing fresh crab

1.5. Crab red noodle soup (Banh da cua)

Ingredients:

• 400g red rice noodles
• 150g ground pork, 400g ground field crab
• 300g pork ribs
• 100g fish cakes, pork fat, dried shrimp
• 6 tomatoes, 3 lemons
• 20g wood ear mushrooms, 10g piper sarmentosum (la lot)
• 50g water spinach, 100g raw herbs
• 5g dried shallots, green onions, culantro
• Salt, seasoning powder, pepper, fish sauce, cooking oil

Detailed instructions for cooking crab red noodle soup:

• Blanch the ribs in boiling water for 2-3 minutes, rinse, then simmer on low heat for 30-40 minutes until tender. Mix ground crab with water, strain carefully through a sieve 3-4 times to get the crab meat liquid. Then simmer over medium heat to let the meat coagulate, scoop the crab meat out separately, and keep the broth.
• Soak wood ear mushrooms in warm water until soft, rinse, and shred. Soak dried shrimp in warm water, then drain and rinse. Rinse the pork fat and cut into cubes. Wash green onions and culantro and chop finely; cut tomatoes into wedges.
• Next, mix ground pork with wood ear mushrooms, la lot leaves, and spices, then roll into parcels and fry until golden. Render the pork fat into lard and cracklings, then fry shallots until golden. Sauté the crab roe with lard and shallots until fragrant. Stir-fry tomatoes until soft and fry the fish cakes until golden.
• Boil water spinach until just cooked, then soak in cold water to keep it crunchy. Mix the crab liquid with the bone broth, season to taste, and then blanch the shrimp until soft.
• Finally, blanch the red noodles separately until just cooked. Place noodles in a bowl, add fried la lot rolls, fish cakes, water spinach, shrimp, crab clusters, and herbs, then pour the broth over. You can also make a mixed version with sweet and sour sauce served with a bowl of broth.

1.6. Salt-toasted field crab

Ingredients:

• 400g whole field crabs
• 2 garlic bulbs, 3 stalks of lemongrass
• 3 sprigs of green onions, Vietnamese coriander (rau ram)
• Salt, sugar, ground pepper, cooking oil

How to process salt-toasted field crab:

• Wash the crabs, separate the shell, remove the apron, and drain. Wash and chop green onions and Vietnamese coriander. Shred the lemongrass and mince the garlic.
• Then heat oil in a pan and deep-fry the crabs until golden and crispy, then remove to drain oil.
• Next, sauté garlic until fragrant, then add the crabs and toss with salt and sugar in a 1:2 ratio. Add lemongrass and chili, stir quickly, and finally sprinkle with green onions and Vietnamese coriander, toss well, and turn off the heat.

>> Refer to: What to cook with sea crab? Check out this list of 15 super attractive dishes

1.7 Tamarind-glazed field crab

Ingredients:

• 500g field crab
• 100g ripe tamarind
• 4 bird’s eye chilies, 9 cloves of garlic
• ½ pack of crispy frying flour, 150ml water
• 3 tablespoons fish sauce, 1 tablespoon tomato sauce
• 5 tablespoons sugar, 1/2 teaspoon MSG
• 1 tablespoon chili sauce, 1/2 teaspoon salt

How to make tamarind-glazed field crab:

• Place field crabs in a bowl of ice water for about 15 minutes to make them easier to handle, separate the shell, and remove the lungs and apron. Then wash and drain thoroughly. Scrape out the crab roe separately.
• Crush tamarind with boiling water, then strain to get the juice. Next, add fish sauce, sugar, chili sauce, tomato sauce, salt, and MSG, stirring to create a balanced sweet and sour taste.
• Then coat the crabs in crispy frying flour and deep-fry until golden, then remove and drain.
• Next, sauté garlic and chili, add crab roe to stir-fry quickly, then pour the tamarind sauce in and bring to a boil. Add the fried crabs, reduce heat, and stir until the sauce thickens and coats the crabs evenly, then turn off the heat.

1.7. Crispy fried field crab

Ingredients:

• 400g field crab
• 2 blocks of white tofu
• 1/2 tablespoon minced green onions, 1 tablespoon minced shallots
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper, 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 500g crispy frying flour, 2 chicken eggs

Instructions for processing crispy fried field crab:

• Wash the crabs several times to remove mud and sand, soak in dilute salt water, then drain. Marinate the crabs with shallots, garlic, minced green onions, and spices to taste for about 30 minutes to absorb the flavors.
• Mash tofu and mix with pepper to create a fatty flavor. Next, coat the tofu onto the crab shells, dip them in beaten eggs, then roll in crispy frying flour.
• Then heat oil in a pan and fry the crabs on medium heat until golden brown, then remove to drain oil.

1.8. Glass noodles with field crab

Ingredients:

• 500g field crab
• 200g glass noodles, 2 eggs
• 200g ground pork, 200g fresh shrimp
• 6 chilies, a bit of lemon juice
• 1 onion, 5 shallots
• 100g water celery, 100g mustard greens, some green onions and cilantro
• 4 teaspoons fish sauce, 405 ml fish sauce
• Salt, seasoning powder, pepper

How to process glass noodles with field crab:

• Soak crabs in dilute salt water, separate shells, remove aprons, and take the roe separately. Crush or grind the crabs with a little salt, then strain to remove shells and get the crab meat liquid. Wash and cut vegetables into bite-sized pieces. Mince and slice shallots, cut onions into wedges, and mince chili. Peel shrimp and remove the vein.
• Puree shrimp, ground pork, eggs, crab roe, 1 tablespoon fish sauce, ½ tablespoon seasoning powder, and a bit of pepper. Then divide the mixture into two parts.
• Cook one part of the mixture with water and onion to create soft clusters, seasoning with powder and fish sauce to taste. Mold the other part into flat pieces and fry until golden in hot oil, then remove and drain.
• Sauté minced shallots in a little oil, add crab roe to stir-fry lightly until fragrant, and turn off the heat. Sauté minced chili in separate oil and turn off.
• Next, use enough hot oil to stir-fry sliced shallots until golden and fragrant, set aside. Boil glass noodles until soft and transparent, then drain and mix with a little oil to prevent sticking.
• Then quickly blanch bean sprouts, mustard greens, and water celery in boiling water with a bit of salt and oil, remove and drain.
• Place glass noodles in a bowl, arrange crab clusters, fried shrimp and meat cakes, blanched vegetables, then sprinkle sautéed crab roe and chili oil. Drizzle with 1 teaspoon of fish sauce, add lemon juice and fried shallots to have a delicious bowl of crab glass noodles.

>> See now: What to cook with crab? Suggestions for 15 attractive crab dishes that you will love

1.9. Field crab hotpot

Ingredients:

• 300-400g field crab
• 150-200g marrow bones
• 200-300g beef, 3 blocks of tofu
• 2-3 tomatoes, green onions, shallots, lemongrass
• Various hotpot dipping vegetables
• Salt, pepper, seasoning powder, fish sauce, sugar, MSG, fried garlic, cooking oil, fried shallots

How to process field crab hotpot:

• Wash crabs with salt water, separate shells, and take roe separately. Crush or grind the crab meat with a little salt, then mix with water, squeeze well, and strain to get the crab liquid, discarding the solids.
• Wash and thinly slice beef, then mix with minced garlic, ginger, fried shallots, fried garlic, oil, and spices, marinating for about 20 minutes to absorb the flavors.
• Wash and dice some tomatoes and cut some into wedges; chop green onions. Slice and crush shallots, cut lemongrass into segments and crush. Wash dipping vegetables, soak in salt, and drain. Cut tofu into squares and fry until golden. Cut marrow bones into segments, rub with salt, and blanch in boiling water.
• Next, put bones in a pot with water and crushed shallots, simmer for about 30 minutes, then strain for clear broth.
• Sauté sliced shallots in oil and remove. Then sauté diced tomatoes with a little fish sauce, add crab roe, stir gently for 2-3 minutes until the roe is evenly melted, then turn off the heat.
• Finally, boil the strained crab liquid with the bone broth, then scoop the crab meat out separately. Add green onions and season to taste. When eating, put tofu and crab clusters in the pot, and dip beef and vegetables.

1.10. Field crab porridge

Ingredients for cooking field crab porridge

• 1kg field crab
• 80g non-glutinous rice, 500g straw mushrooms
• 2 luffas, 200g Malabar spinach
• 2 chicken eggs, 10 balut eggs (trung vit lon)
• 5 stalks of green onions, 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 2 tablespoons cooking oil
• Fish sauce, salt, MSG

How to cook simple field crab porridge:

• After buying field crabs, wash them, separate the shells for the roe, crush the bodies, and strain with about 2 liters of water to get the crab liquid. Cut straw mushrooms into bite-sized pieces, peel and segment the luffa, pick young Malabar spinach leaves, and chop green onions. Wash the rice and toast until golden and fragrant, and boil the balut eggs.
• Next, boil the strained crab liquid with a little salt and MSG over medium heat until the crab clusters rise, then scoop them out separately.
• Then sauté the green onion whites with oil, add the crab roe to stir-fry until cooked. Add the crab meat clusters, stir well, then crack chicken eggs in and stir until the mixture thickens.
• Sauté garlic and stir-fry straw mushrooms. Boil 2 liters of water, add toasted rice and cook until the porridge is soft. Continue adding mushrooms, the roe and crab meat mixture, and stir well, then season with fish sauce and spices to taste, adding green onions.
• Scoop the porridge into a small hotpot and simmer. When eating with balut eggs, you only need to dip the luffa and Malabar spinach until cooked to enjoy.

1.11. Field crab tapioca noodle soup (Hu tieu)

Required ingredients:

• 500g field crab
• 500g dry or fresh tapioca noodles
• 150g ground pork, 500g pork bones
• 1 chicken egg, 30 quail eggs
• 100g white radish, 100g carrots
• Green onions, cilantro, celery
• Salt, seasoning powder, sugar, pepper

How to cook field crab tapioca noodle soup

• After buying crabs, wash them, remove the apron and mouth, soak in dilute salt water, and rinse again. Separate the roe and grind the bodies finely, then mix with water and strain twice through a sieve to get clear crab liquid.
• Blanch pork bones in boiling water and rinse. Peel carrots and white radish, then cut into rounds. Boil quail eggs and peel them. Soak dry tapioca noodles until soft, blanch quickly through boiling water, and then rinse with cold water.
• Next, boil the crab liquid with a bit of salt; when the meat rises, scoop it out. Put pork bones into the pot, simmer for about 30 minutes, then add carrots, white radish, and seasoning to taste, cooking for another 10 minutes.
• Mix the crab clusters with ground pork, crab roe, chicken egg, minced shallots, and spices. Then steam the mixture for about 15 minutes until cooked.
• Adjust the seasoning of the broth and add green onion roots. Finally, arrange noodles, bean sprouts, chives, quail eggs, crab cake, and herbs in a bowl, then pour the hot broth over, sprinkle with pepper, and enjoy.

>> Recommended delicious recipes not to be missed:

• What to cook with mackerel? Revealing simple cooking recipes
• What to cook with razor clams? Top 10 attractive delicious dishes
• What to cook with geoduck? Summary of 10 ways to cook while preserving the sea flavor

2. How to prepare field crabs

Field crab is a familiar ingredient in many rustic dishes such as jute leaf crab soup, bun rieu, or salt-toasted field crab. However, for the dish to be delicious and hygienic, the field crab preparation step needs to be performed carefully and correctly.

• First of all, when buying field crabs, you should choose crabs that are still alive, healthy, with hard shells and fast movement. Fresh crabs will provide firm meat, natural sweet taste, and no strange smell. Then, put the crabs in a basin of clean water, soaking with rice water for about 10-15 minutes to let the crabs release mud.
• Next, rinse many times with clean water and drain. Put the crabs in a bowl, cover tightly, and place in the freezer for about 15-20 minutes to help the crabs harden, making it easier to separate the shells.
• Take the crabs out, separate the shells and aprons, use a spoon to take the roe in the shell separately to complete the preparation.
• Turn the crab over, use your hand to separate the apron, then use a spoon to take the roe in the shell separately. For dishes that need crab roe, you should handle gently to keep the roe intact.
• Finally, rinse the crabs once more with clean water and drain. Depending on the dish, you can crush the crabs, grind them finely, or cut them in half. If not used immediately, you should store the crabs in the refrigerator and process them early to maintain freshness.

The above article is a summary of field crab dishes that are easy to make at home. Hopefully, it has helped you answer the question “what to cook with field crab” and provided more choices for your family meals. Besides these delicious crab recipes, if you’re looking for a quick and savory snack, don’t forget to check out our premium dried squid snacks which are perfect for any gathering! Don’t forget to visit olasquid.com to discover more simple, authentic recipes and useful processing tips!