Bún Riêu (Vietnamese Crab, Pork & Tomato Noodle Soup)
A traditional Vietnamese soup with a flavorful broth of tomatoes, shrimp paste, fish sauce, and meat broth, loaded with tofu, pork/crab meatballs (riêu), and topped with fresh herbs and veggies!
- Prep time
- 30 min
- Cook time
- 1 hr 30 min
- Yield
- 5 servings
- Difficulty
- MEDIUM
Ingredients
Quantities are shown as originally provided.
- 50 g shallots (about four large cloves, thinly sliced)
- 2 tbsp neutral cooking oil
- 2 lb tomatoes (quartered (any type))
- 1 tsp fermented shrimp paste - Lee Kum Kee (diluted in a small bowl w a bit of water for even dispersion)
- 3 tbsp fish sauce
- 1 tsp salt
- 1-2 tbsp rock sugar (granulated is ok too)
- 4 tbsp ketchup
- 43.5 oz chicken broth (or make your own broth with water and 1 lb pork ribs)
- 43.5 oz water
- 1-2 tsp monosodium glutamate seasoning
- 25 g shallot (sliced (about two large cloves))
- 1/8 lb raw shrimp (shells removed, deveined.)
- 2/3 lb ground pork
- 5.6 oz canned minced prawn
- 57 g steamed or canned crab (optional. If using frozen or canned, lightly squeeze to remove excess moisture.)
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tsp pepper
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 tbsp fish sauce
- 5 stalks green onions (cut into 1.5" pieces)
- 1 lb deep fried tofu
- 1/2 lb raw bean sprouts
- 1 bunch kinh gioi / Vietnamese balm
- 1 bunch mint
- 1 bunch tia to / purple perilla
- shrimp paste on the side
- sliced limes
- 4 thai chiles
- 1 lb dried rice vermicelli sticks (small noodle size. Thap Chua brand (but any will do))
Instructions
- 1
Cook noodles according to package instructions, split between 4-5 bowls
- 2
Soup
- 3
Thinly slice shallots, add oil to a pan and saute until light brown.
- 4
Add quartered tomatoes, stir fry for 3-5 minutes until slightly soft.
- 5
Add shallots, tomatoes, and all remaining soup ingredients into a large pot.
- 6
Raise to high heat until it hits a boil, and boils for five minutes.
- 7
Reduce the heat to medium-low or low, so it maintains a low boil while you work on the Riêu.
- 8
Riêu / Gach / Meatballs
- 9
Add shallots into a small food processor, pulse until finely chopped.
- 10
Add shrimp, pulse 5-6 times.
- 11
Add remaining ingredients (except crab and green onion) and pulse a few times until evenly mixed.
- 12
Pour into a mixing bowl, add crab and lightly mix with a spoon.
- 13
Using a soup spoon, scoop 1-2 tbsp size meat balls (your choice!) into the pot until you use it all
- 14
Raise the heat to high and bring to a boil, then drop heat to a low boil. At most it should take 20 minutes to cook the meatballs all the way through. Check doneness by breaking a meatball in half to make sure its not soft or raw inside.
- 15
During the last five minutes of cooking, drop in the chopped green onion so it slightly softens
- 16
Serving
- 17
Evenly divide contents of the soup pot between your 4-5 bowls.
- 18
Serve a communal accoutrement plate on the side so each guest can customize their own.