Crab spring roll shop in Hai Phong for nearly 40 years

Hai Phong Golden crab spring rolls , crispy crust and rich crab meat filling from Thuan Yen restaurant at Co Dao market have conquered many diners for nearly 40 years.

The crab spring rolls are made from crabs caught from the seas of Hai Phong. Unlike regular spring rolls which are cylindrical and elongated, crab spring rolls are wrapped in squares. One of the oldest crab spring roll shops is Thuan Yen crab spring roll, opened by Ms. Yen nearly 40 years ago. Currently, the shop has been run by Ms. Nguyen Thi Hai My (34 years old, Hai Phong), Ms. Yen's daughter, for nearly 15 years.

Square crab spring rolls have become a trademark of Hai Phong cuisine. — Square crab spring rolls have become a trademark of Hai Phong cuisine .

The restaurant is located at 88 Tran Nhat Duat, in a row of houses built in 1983, in the space of Co Dao market, the old name of Hai Phong Railway Station market. Mr. Le Chi Nguyen, Deputy Manager of Hai Phong Railway Station market, said that this market of more than 8,000 square meters includes a row of three-story houses built in 1996, 10 rows of level 4 houses built in 1983. In the morning, the market sells vegetables, meat and fish. In the early afternoon, this place becomes a culinary paradise with many shops selling specialties. In particular, crab spring rolls are considered the most "luxurious" dish in the market because the price is higher than other dishes.

The secret of the crab spring rolls at Thuan Yen restaurant is that all the ingredients are fresh and come from Hai Phong. My imports crabs from the sea areas of Do Son (Do Son district), Cat Ba (Cat Hai district), Trang Cat (Hai An district). The wrapper is made from fresh hand-rolled rice paper from Hang Kenh (Le Chan district). "Cake bought at the store is usually soaked in salt, which makes it salty enough to preserve for a long time. Fresh rice paper has a lighter taste, is thicker and chewier, and is crispier when fried. Each time I import 5,000 pieces, but they are sold out in just one week," said My. The sweet and sour vinegar is also mixed and cooked by her from Cat Hai fish sauce to bring out the right aroma and taste.

Every day, Ms. My wakes up at 5am to prepare the ingredients. The process of making crab spring rolls is similar to that of making regular spring rolls, but is more elaborate in that the crabs are steamed and the meat is removed by hand. The shrimp are peeled, the pork is ground together with thinly sliced vermicelli, shiitake mushrooms, and wood ear mushrooms. The ingredients are kept separately, not mixed together like regular spring rolls.

Ms. My wraps the spring rolls into two shapes, an elongated cylinder and a square. First, she spreads two layers of fresh rice paper on the table, then arranges each layer of ingredients, from bean sprouts, minced meat to crab meat, adding peeled shrimp on top, skillfully wrapping the spring rolls so that the filling is completely covered by the rice paper. "Doing this will reduce the situation of the filling getting wet and seeping into the spring roll. If the spring rolls have a wet shell, they will not be delicious and crispy when transported far away, and when fried, they will easily break and the filling will burst, which is not pleasing to the eye," she said.

The weight of a raw spring roll is about 200g (gram), the size is almost the size of a hand. "Hai Phong people eat big and talk big, so I also wrap the spring rolls big. When I bite, the filling fills my mouth, just looking at it is pleasing to the eye," she shared.

The wrapped spring rolls are fried for about 10-15 minutes. The oil used to fry the spring rolls must be boiling, then turned down and kept at a simmer. If the heat is too high, the inside will not be cooked and the outside will not be crispy. When customers order, Ms. My starts frying the spring rolls, so during peak hours, the restaurant has to use two stoves at full capacity to have enough quantity to serve.

Many diners commented that they prefer square-wrapped crab spring rolls because the crust feels crispier. Ms. My explained that when wrapped in a cylindrical shape, the filling spreads out, so the rice paper wrapper gets wet quickly, reducing the crispiness. Square wrapping reduces the wetness of the spring roll wrapper, and at the same time, the wrapper is folded in many layers, making it crispier and less chewy. This is also the typical shape of Hai Phong crab spring rolls.

Crab spring rolls are also eaten with vermicelli noodles like vermicelli with grilled pork, lettuce, perilla, Vietnamese coriander leaves and sliced vegetables in sweet and sour sauce such as cucumber, carrot, papaya. Take the vermicelli noodles out into a bowl, add vegetables, crab spring rolls and drizzle with vinegar to enjoy. This way the spring roll skin will remain crispy and not become soggy due to water absorption.

The spring rolls are cut into 4 parts, filled with meat and crab meat. When put into the mouth, in addition to the sweetness of the meat and the slight toughness of the vermicelli, you can clearly feel the characteristic sweetness of the crab meat, mixed with the aroma of shiitake mushrooms and pepper. The spring rolls have a combination of two different crispinesses: the crunchy texture of the wood ear mushrooms and the crunchy texture of the crust. When biting, you can clearly hear the sound of the crust breaking into small pieces in your mouth.

Ngo Duy Lu (34 years old, Hanoi ) shared that he had eaten many types of spring rolls in both the North and the South, but Hai Phong crab spring rolls impressed him the most. "Crab spring rolls have two types of meat, so the flavors are diverse. The crab meat is shredded, when chewed it is a bit chewy but you can still clearly feel the firmness and sweetness without being fishy," he said.

Mr. Lu added that every time he eats crab spring rolls, although they are delicious, he can only eat two or three before he is full. Spring rolls have a large amount of filling, a lot of protein, and are fried in oil, so they are easy to get bored of and he cannot eat many.

In addition to being eaten with vermicelli, crab spring rolls can also be used as a dish in family meals. This is the traditional way of eating for middle-aged and elderly guests.

Thuan Yen crab spring rolls cost 70,000 VND each, which is relatively high compared to other dishes. Ms. My said that she has kept the price for three years despite the increase in seafood, meat and other ingredients. On average, she wraps about 400 - 500 spring rolls a day, peaking at 1,000. She not only sells to customers who come directly to the restaurant but also ships to customers in neighboring provinces and southern provinces with large orders, from 100 - 200 rolls.

Located in the central market, about 800m from Hai Phong Station, about 500m from the City Theater, Thuan Yen Nem cua be restaurant is the destination of many diners. The restaurant is relatively spacious and has parking space. The restaurant is air-conditioned, about 40 m2 in area, and can accommodate about 50 guests at a time. The restaurant opens from 6am to 6pm every day, but is usually crowded from 11am to 2pm.

From around 4pm onwards, Ms My mainly delivers spring rolls home for customers to have dinner or delivers them to train stations and bus stations for customers to take as gifts. The last three days of the week are the time when the number of customers at the restaurant increases because many people come to experience the Hai Phong food tour.

Nem cua be is one of the specialties that shows the uniqueness and diversity of Hai Phong cuisine. In addition to Co Dao market, diners can also easily find this dish at Cat Bi market, Cat Cut street, To Hieu, Cau Dat.

Article and photos : Quynh Mai

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