A home crab bee hoon soup (not our kitchen's recipe)
A home version. The kitchen's own stock stays in the kitchen.
Quick answer
To make crab bee hoon soup at home, steam a whole mud crab until cooked through, simmer the cracked shells with ginger and water into a stock, season it, then add soaked rice vermicelli and the crab pieces. This is a home version drawn from standard technique. It is not the recipe used at Chicken Pie Kitchen & Don Signature Crab, which has not been published.
A home version, not our recipe
This is a home crab bee hoon soup. It is not the recipe used at Chicken Pie Kitchen & Don Signature Crab. The kitchen has not published how its signature broth is made, we do not have it, and we will not guess at it. What follows is a plain home method built on common technique: cook the crab, make a stock from the shells, and put it together with vermicelli. Home recipe blogs such as Nomadette, The Meatmen and Expat Living describe similar approaches, and we list them in the sources.
If you would like the real thing instead, the soup is on the menu from $39.80 as of October 2026.
What you need (serves 2)
- 1 whole mud crab, about 600g to 800g, live or well thawed
- 2 litres water
- 5 slices ginger
- 2 spring onions, whites crushed
- 1 tablespoon cooking wine, if you cook with it
- 150g dried rice vermicelli (bee hoon)
- 1 small bunch of leafy greens, such as choy sum or milk cabbage
- Salt, white pepper
- Optional: 100ml evaporated milk for a creamier soup, a common home trick in recipe blogs
Method
- Prepare the crab. Lift the top shell, remove the gills and rinse. Cut the body in half and crack the claws so that the flavour can escape.
- Steam it. Steam the pieces for 10 to 12 minutes, until the shell is bright orange and the meat is cooked through. Keep the juices that collect in the dish.
- Make the stock. Put the shell, the legs and the steaming juices into a pot with the water, ginger and spring onion whites. Simmer for 30 minutes, uncovered, skimming off any scum. Strain.
- Season. Return the stock to the pot, add the wine if using, then salt and white pepper to taste. Stir in the evaporated milk if you want a creamier soup, and warm it gently without boiling hard.
- Soak the noodles. Soak the dried vermicelli in warm water for 10 minutes, then drain. Add it to the stock and cook for 2 minutes.
- Add the crab and greens. Return the crab pieces and the greens. Heat through for 2 minutes. Serve at once.
The soup should taste of crab, ginger and a little sweetness, and the noodles should be soft but not mushy.
Food-safety notes
- Cook crab until the meat is opaque and hot throughout. Do not eat crab that smelled bad before cooking.
- Eat it the same day. Cool leftovers quickly and refrigerate within two hours; reheat to piping hot, once only.
- Shellfish is a common allergen.
What is different in a restaurant
A restaurant cooks many crabs to order, uses a shop-made stock, and can keep a pot at temperature all day. Our own broth is “milky” and “herbal”, cooked with cooking wine, ginger, yam and Dang Gui (Angelica root), according to the kitchen. Home cooks cannot easily match that without the stock base, which the kitchen has not disclosed. What is in the soup lists what is public.
If your crab is the star and your time is short, order a Regular and eat it the way how to eat crab bee hoon describes.
Choosing and handling the crab
A live crab gives the cleanest flavour, but frozen is a practical choice. If it is live, chill it in the freezer for 30 to 40 minutes before you prepare it so that it is sluggish and easier to handle. Check that the legs and claws are intact, and cook it the same day. If it is frozen, thaw it fully in the fridge overnight, never on the counter. Wear gloves or use tongs, because the shell and claws are sharp.
Make-ahead and leftovers
The stock can be made a day ahead and kept refrigerated. Cook the noodles and the crab only when you are ready to serve, so that the noodles do not turn soft. Do not reheat crab more than once.
Questions people ask
Is this your kitchen's recipe?
No. The kitchen has not published its stock recipe and we do not have it. This page is a home version written from standard technique.
Can I use frozen crab?
Yes, thawed fully in the fridge. Fresh, live crab gives the cleanest flavour, but frozen crab is a practical alternative.
Can I just order the soup instead?
Yes. DonChef's Crab Bee Hoon Soup is on the menu from $39.80 as of October 2026.