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.

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.

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 m2 includes a row of three-storey 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 to the crab spring rolls at Thuan Yen restaurant is that all the ingredients are fresh and sourced from Hai Phong. My imports crabs from the coastal areas of Do Son (Do Son district), Cat Ba (Cat Hai district), and Trang Cat (Hai An district). The wrappers are made from fresh, hand-rolled rice paper from Hang Kenh (Le Chan district). "The cakes bought at stores are usually soaked in salt, which makes them salty enough to preserve them for a long time. Fresh cakes have a lighter taste, are thicker and chewier, and are crispier when fried. Each time I import 5,000, but they are sold out in just one week," said My. The sweet and sour vinegar is also mixed and cooked 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 it 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 tightly covered by the rice paper. "Doing this will reduce the situation of the filling getting wet and seeping into the spring roll. A wet spring roll will not ensure its deliciousness and crispiness when taken far away, and when fried, it will easily break and the filling will burst, not looking good," she said.

The weight of a raw spring roll is about 200 grams, the size is almost the size of a hand. "Hai Phong people eat and talk big, so I also wrap the spring rolls big. When I bite into them, the filling fills my mouth, just looking at them 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 like vermicelli with grilled pork, with lettuce, perilla, Vietnamese coriander leaves and sliced vegetables in a sweet and sour sauce such as cucumber, carrot, papaya. Take the vermicelli out into a bowl, add vegetables, crab spring rolls and then pour vinegar on top to enjoy. This way the spring roll skin will still be crispy and not 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 crispy 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 has 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 flavor is diverse. The crab meat is shredded, when chewed it is a bit chewy but you can still clearly feel the firmness and sweetness without feeling 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 feels 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 packs about 400 - 500 spring rolls a day, with peaks reaching 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 up to 50 guests at a time. The restaurant is open 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 to train 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.

Crab spring rolls are one of the specialties that show 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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