BUN RIEU

Vietnamese typical seafood, you can find this dish in many restaurants vietnam. There’s more to Vietnamese noodles than Pho! Also known as Vietnamese crab noodle soup, Bun Rieu is a medley of diverse ingredients that lends it a unique flavour that is both rich and complex. It is often distinguished by its distinctive red hue achieved by briefly sautéing the tomatoes before adding them to the soup.

INGREDIENTS

FOR BROTH:

• 4.5lt water
• 700g pork neck bones
• 450g shrimps (with head)
• 1 tbsp tamarind powder
• 3 tbsp seasoned crab paste
• 1 tsp shrimp paste
• 2 tbsp salt
• 3 tbsp sugar
• 1 tbsp black pepper
• 4 large tomatoes
• 5.5lt water
• 2 packets rice noodles

FOR MEATBALLS:

• 500g crab meat lump
• 230g ground pork
• 900g peeled shrimp (leftover from the broth step)
• 5 large eggs
• 2 shallots
• 1 white onion
• 1 bunch green onions
• 1½ tsp sugar
• 3 tbsp seasoned crab paste
• 1 tsp shrimp paste
• 1 tsp salt
• ½ cup water

TOPPINGS (OPTIONAL):

• 1 bunch cilantro
• 3 large limes
• chili sate sauce
• bean sprouts
• fried tofu puffs

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HOW TO MAKE

1. Broth: Add water to a 5lt pot and boil. When the water is boiling, add in the noodles and cook until they are al dente. Strain the noodles and rinse with cold water. Set it aside.
2. Take a large stock pot and put the pork bones in it. Fill with water and boil for a few minutes and discard the water. Add 4.5lt of fresh water to the pork bones again and boil for an hour or longer. (The longer you boil the better the broth will be.)
3. Peel shrimps. Put the peeled shells in the boiling broth. Broth will turn red from the shrimp shells (after around 20 mins). Remove the shells and pork bones from the broth.
4. Add the tamarind powder, 1 tsp of shrimp paste, 3 tbsp of crab paste, 3 tbsp of sugar, 2 tbsp of salt, and 1 tbsp of black pepper into the broth and let it boil.
5. Cut the tomatoes into quarters, saute the pieces, and add them to the broth last to give it a redder colour.
6. Meatballs: Put 900g of peeled shrimp, 5 eggs, 3 tbsp of crab paste, 1 tsp of shrimp paste, 1 tsp salt, ½ cup of water, 1.5 tsp of sugar, 2 shallots, 1 bunch of green onions, and 1 white onion into a food processor. Pulse ingredients together into a paste.
7. Gently fold the crab meat with the shrimp mixture and ground pork until uniform.
8. Boil the broth from above. When it is boiling take the meatball mixture and make free formed meatballs with a spoon putting them into the broth. Add the fried tofu at this point. The meatballs are cooked when they start floating to the top.
9. For toppings, chop up the remaining green onions from the bunch and cilantro bunch – slice the remaining white onion thinly – quarter the limes.
10. To assemble, put noodles in a bowl, add any of the toppings/garnishes. Ladle in the soup with tomatoes and meatballs. Squeeze some lime and add some chilli sate.