Simple Vietnamese Bun Rieu
. Bun Rieu is a flavor packed noodle bowl that our family loves. It's kind of like crab cake, but in a soup. The bold flavor combinations of sweet, svory, sour and hearty makes up the deliciousness of this dish.
- Prep time
- 10 min
- Cook time
- 50 min
- Yield
- 4 servings
- Difficulty
- HARD
Ingredients
Quantities are shown as originally provided.
- 1 tablespoon of cooking oil
- 1 shallot, thinly sliced
- 4 tomatoes, quartered
- 4 quarts of water
- 2 (32-ounce) cartons of chicken broth
- 1 tablespoon of salt
- 1 pound of pork, ground
- 1 pound of shrimp, ground
- 1 (7-ounce) jar of shrimp paste
- 1 (7-ounce) jar of crab paste
- 2 shallots, minced
- 2 eggs
- 2 tablespoons of salt
- 1 tablespoon of sugar
- 1 tablespoon of black pepper
- 1 tablespoon of fish sauce
- 1 package of vermicelli noodles
- lime wedges
- Thai bird's eye chilis
- 1 bunch of cilantro, chopped
- 1 bunch of green onion, chopped
- 1 bunch of water spinach stems, split
- 1 small head of lettuce, julienned into thin strips
- ½ head of green cabbage, julienned into thin strips
- ½ head of purple cabbage, julienned into thin strips
- ½ head of purple cabbage, julienned into thin strips
- 1 cup of bean sprouts
Instructions
- 1
Cook the vermicelli noodles per package instructions.
- 2
When it done boiling, drain and rinse with cold water to remove the excess starch. THis will prevent the noodles from sticking together.
- 3
Take a handful of noodles and wrap them around your hand. Place them in a storage bowl wrapped in a moistened towel. Do it again for the noodles. This will allow the noodles to be prepared while the broth is being cooked.
- 4
Mix the pork, shrimp, shrimp paste, crab paste, shallots, and eggs together.
- 5
Add in the salt, sugar, black pepper, and fish sauce.
- 6
Heat up the cooking oil in a pot. Add the shallots. Saute until light brown.
- 7
Add in tomatoes, saute until the tomatoes are soft.
- 8
Next, add in the water and chicken broth. Allow it to boil for 3 minutes.
- 9
Reduce to medium heat.
- 10
Scoop 1 tablespoon of the crab and pork mixture into the pot while the broth at a low rolling boil. Allow it to cook for 15 minutes.
- 11
Break the meatball in half to make sure that the pork and crab has cooked all the way through.
- 12
To serve, divide the prepared vermicelli among the serving bowls.
- 13
Top with green onion and cilantro.
- 14
Ladle the soup broth over the noodles. Serve with extra crab meat on top and a handful of herbs, lime wedges, and Thai chilis. You can customize the toppings to what you want. Often, authentic Bun Rieu is topped with bean sprouts, shredded cabbage, mint, bean sprouts, and green onions.