Every summer in Hue, the specialty “water crab” becomes popular. Hue people usually do not pronounce the letter “t”, so I don’t know when the swallow was called the nuoc. Hue people often joke with each other with the phrase “nuoc tuoc luoc”, which means “swallow it whole without chewing”. Very delicious and harmless, these soft green creatures that look almost like jellyfish but smaller grow in the brackish water lagoons of Cau Hai and Tam Giang. The sauce is only about the size of a lemon, green and light pink in color, often known as an extremely unique Hue specialty.

The crab is a clear mollusk with small tentacles like a squid. In the summer, when traveling to Hue, you will see the image of water floating on the water surface in patches. People will pick it up, soak it and bring it to the market to sell.

The crab is divided into ears and legs, has a delicious taste, does not cause itching and does not have a fishy smell. Hue crab meat is crispy and can effectively cool the body. According to travel experience, you can eat this seafood raw with Hue shrimp paste or you can also eat it when it is processed into a noodle dish with vinegar and nuoc.

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Hue’s specialty dish crab is especially popular in the summer

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Hue crab meat is crispy and can cool the body

In the past, nuoc was a familiar dish, a choice to cool down and relieve boredom for people living in the coastal areas of the lagoon. Every year, local people can only see nuoc appear once in the 2nd-3rd lunar month. Residents in the Tam Giang – Cau Hai area never seemed to imagine that one day, crab would become a “trending” dish not only in Hue but also spread throughout the country.

In recent years, with the development of social networks, images of jellyfish-like animals with beautiful blue colors have spread rapidly on platforms. People in the city rushed to buy it, leading people along the lagoon to temporarily put aside their main jobs to exploit water and sell it, creating higher economic value. The price of whole fish used to be only about 30,000 VND/kg, but has now increased to 70,000 VND (reference price, updated data in April 2024).

The leg of the crab is currently twice as expensive, but still does not meet people’s needs. Thanks to that, people living along the lagoon have a large source of income. Even the people of Hue have to complain that during the crab season, they do not have the opportunity to enjoy their homeland’s specialties if they do not quickly hunt for them first.

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The water crab is green and transparent, often appearing in the Tam Giang – Cau Hai area

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The crab has become a “trending” dish in many provinces and cities across the country thanks to social networks

Nuoc is a delicious, cool and non-itchy seafood like jellyfish. It is loved by many gourmets and used as an ingredient for many delicious dishes. At the same time, this is also a typical specialty of Hue people, Vietnamtravelio recommends you try it if you have the opportunity to visit the ancient capital. There are many ways to prepare shrimp paste, but the most popular is to eat it raw with fish sauce.

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Nuoc is a delicious, cooler and more benign seafood than jellyfish, often combined by Hue people with melon.

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The crab is used as an ingredient for many delicious dishes

Crab dish dipped in Hue shrimp paste:

This is the simplest way to eat but no less delicious, as crab is often compared to “Hue’s sashimi”. After being purchased, the crab will be cleaned and squeezed dry. After that, the broth is dipped in Hue shrimp paste mixed with lemon, sugar, MSG and a few slices of fresh chili. To fully enjoy this dish, it is indispensable to have fruits such as fig, banana, sour star fruit, herbs such as basil, perilla… In addition, Hue people also dip it with fresh, succulent melon. thickly sliced.

The shrimp is cool and crispy, combined with the fragrant, spicy fish sauce and aromatic herbs to make the dish more attractive. Surely many diners will feel addicted to this dish from the first time they enjoy it.

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The shrimp is dipped in Hue fish sauce, served with many types of herbs

Hue vinegar noodle dish:

Noodles with vinegar is also a delicious dish from Hue crab that you should try. After purchasing, the crab legs will be soaked in cold water with crushed guava leaves to keep them crispy. Before eating, the crab legs are picked out and drained. The more dry they are, the more delicious and richer they will be when mixed with vermicelli.

Broth is an important factor in creating the delicious taste of noodle soup with vinegar. The rich flavor comes from whole fresh shrimp, peeled and de-headed, leaving only the beautiful body. Next, the shrimp is marinated and stir-fried in a pan with onions sauteed, then a little chili powder is added. When cooking, chefs need to be careful to keep the heat low so that the food cooks evenly and does not take away the flavor.

When you taste and see that the broth is okay, you can add chopped cherry tomatoes. After the water boils, we will turn off the stove. The yellow color of shrimp combined with the red color of tomatoes creates a thick, attractive sauce mixture. The raw vegetables with vinegar noodles will include finely grated white porcelain banana ears to create a special dish, crushed roasted peanuts, rice paper, spicy and sour fish sauce and a few green chili peppers. These are all indispensable parts to perfect the flavor of dishes from Hue crab.

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Hue vinegar noodle dish is super delicious

Clam, a cool and non-itchy seafood like jellyfish, is an ingredient for popular specialty dishes in Hue. The watering season only lasts during the hot summer months. According to travel experience, to enjoy the most complete flavor of crabs, people need to choose fresh crabs, not dried crabs or soaked crabs that turn opaque yellow. One thing that you need to pay close attention to is that the shrimp should only be used during the day, because after a day, they will taste worse and shrink in size.

The coming of the rainy season not only makes meals in the Ancient Capital more colorful, but also creates a wonderful feeling of refreshment, helping to soothe the tired bodies of both children and adults. In particular, there are some uses of sea buckthorn that you should know such as soothing the skin and helping to effectively remove heat rash.

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Hue nuoc season begins around the summer from February to March of the lunar calendar

Many people in other provinces often confuse Hue noodle soup with Hai Phong’s typical jellyfish dish. Although it belongs to the same family as jellyfish, the jelly is considered healthier than jellyfish and is less picky about eating. Snails usually live in brackish water (so there are no sea urchins) while the delicious Hai Phong red jellyfish often appears in salt water. Both of these typical dishes often reappear in the summer months, however, Hue crab fishing time usually ends earlier.

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Hue crab after being cleaned by local people

As a unique specialty and eaten raw without any processing, Hue crab makes a strong impression on many diners when they first enjoy it in the ancient capital. Hopefully, through the information provided by Vietnamtravelio above, you will have an unforgettable culinary experience.