Vietnamese Pork & Crab Noodle Soup (Bun Rieu Cua Thit)
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Bún Riêu is a Vietnamese rice noodle soup with a tomato and crab soup base. It is eaten with a lot of fresh veggies and Vietnamese herbs, the popular of which is split water spinach stems (Rau Muống).
There are many varieties of Bún Riêu. Some are made with crab (bún riêu cua). Some are made with fish (bún riêu cá) and others are made with small shellfish (bún riêu ốc). The stock is made from pork and/or chicken bones. Tomatoes, fried tofu, and sometimes pork blood are added. Then the stock is seasoned with fermented shrimp paste.
With the garden again exploding with super sweet tomato, I had to find a recipe that use up a lot of tomatoes and this the recipe that I turn to every Summer when tomatoes are aplenty.
Vietnamese Pork & Crab Noodle Soup (Bun Rieu)
I wasn't a big fan of Bún Riêu until I tasted my mother-in-law's Bún Riêu and boy oh boy, was I pleasantly surprised at all the bold flavors. The fermented shrimp paste, the spiced minced crab, the tangy lime and the crunch of the water spinach, all made for a party in the mouth. The combination of flavors, sweet, sour, and savory, makes up the magical wonders of Vietnamese cooking.
Bún Riêu can be labor intensive, but I was surprised to find that my mother-in-law’s recipe took only an hour and a half to make. For a Vietnamese soup noodle dish, I would say that is pretty quick. You can get the Bún Riêu soup crab base (gia vị nấu bún riêu), already jarred or canned at Asian stores. If you do opt to make this base from scratch, you will need a brick and mortar pestle to pound paddy crabs to a pulp. Then you would strain and sieve the mashed up crabs, and it is this mashed up paddy crab that makes up the essence of Bún Riêu. In Vietnam, you would see vendors in the early morning pounding fresh paddy crabs in the markets.
Vietnamese Pork & Crab Noodle Soup (Bún Riêu)
Fun fact: Did you know why the soup is called Bún Riêu? Riêu is like sea foam in Vietnamese. If the soup is done correctly, the crab/egg mixture resembles sea foam as it floats on the top of the pot. Many years of being Vietnamese and I just found this out.
Vietnamese Pork and Crab Noodle Soup (Bún Riêu Cua Thịt)
Ingredients
Instructions
- Clean the bones (optional but recommended): In a large stock pot, add pork bones and water to cover. Cook for 5 minutes or until impurities (foam) float to the top. Place a colander in the sink, drain bones into a colander and rinse thoroughly with cold water.
- Clean the stock pot thoroughly and return it to the stove. Add water (5 liters) and parboiled bones. Simmer on medium-low heat for one hour.
- Finely chop presoaked dried salted shrimp in a food processor and set aside.
- Heat oil in a skillet. Add shallots and garlic. Saute until fragrant (about 20 seconds). Add jarred or canned spiced crab and dried shrimp. Mix until combined then transfer skillet off the heat to prevent cooking the eggs. Add beaten eggs and mix until combined.
- Turn up the heat on the stock pot to a rolling boil. Slowly pour the crab mixture into the stock pot. We want it to cook quickly so that it stays in one large piece. The mixture will float to the top. Turn the heat down to a low simmer and cook for 10 minutes.
- In the now empty skillet, heat more vegetable oil and saute garlic and shallots. Once fragrant and lightly brown, add tomatoes. Stir gently and cook for 2 minutes or until tomatoes have release some of its juices.
- Push the crab mixture in the stock pot to the side and slowly add the tomato mixture, making sure to not break up the crab mixture.
- Now that you have everything in the pot and the flavors had a chance to meld together, season to taste with salt (4 teaspoons), chicken/mushroom bouillon powder (2 tablespoons) and MSG (1 teaspoon).
- For the ketchup and shrimp paste, add it to a small bowl and ladle in the hot broth from the stockpot to liquefy it first before adding it to the stock pot.
- Add fried tofu to the stock pot.
- Add a handful of cooked rice noodles to a bowl. Ladle in hot soup from the stock pot. Add pork spare ribs, a piece of the crab mixture and a few pieces of fried tofu.
- Add in your favorite veggies, a squeeze of lime, and a sprinkle of green onions.
- Serve with additional shrimp paste on the side.
