Crab and Tomato Noodle Soup (Bún Riêu)

Method

1. 01

   Blanch the pork ribs

   Cover ribs with cold water, bring to a boil and boil 5 minutes. Drain, rinse away foam and bone fragments, and wash the pot. This blanching water is discarded rather than used for the tomato broth.

   

2. 02

   Make the pork stock

   Add ribs, 2.5 L fresh water and salt to the clean pot. Bring to a boil, skim, and simmer gently with the lid ajar for 75 minutes until the ribs are tender. Keep the ribs for serving and adjust the liquid to 2 L with hot water.

   

3. 03

   Soften the tomatoes

   Heat oil over medium in a frying pan. Cook 60 g shallots and all garlic for 2 minutes until fragrant, then add tomatoes and cook 5 minutes, turning gently. The cut edges should soften while the wedges still keep their shape; scrape everything into the stock.

   

4. 04

   Mix the crab dumplings

   Mix crab, minced shrimp, ground pork, eggs, remaining 20 g shallots, 10 ml fish sauce and pepper until evenly combined. Keep the mixture cold. It should be soft and spoonable, not kneaded into a smooth, rubbery paste.

   

5. 05

   Poach the delicate dumplings

   Bring tomato broth to a steady simmer. Lower 16 heaped spoonfuls of crab mixture into it, keeping each about 4 cm wide. Do not stir for the first 5 minutes. Simmer 15–18 minutes until firm enough to lift and the centre of the largest dumpling reaches 74°C.

   

6. 06

   Add tofu and season

   Dilute shrimp paste in 60 ml hot broth, then add with the remaining 25 ml fish sauce and sugar. Slip tofu between the dumplings and simmer 5 minutes until hot throughout. Stir around the edge gently so the delicate crab pieces remain intact.

   

7. 07

   Cook the vermicelli

   Cook rice vermicelli separately according to its package, usually 5–7 minutes in boiling water. Taste for a tender centre, then rinse briefly under warm water and drain well. Divide among four deep bowls without adding the starchy cooking water to the soup.

   

8. 08

   Prepare fresh accompaniments

   Blanch sprouts in fresh boiling water for 60 seconds and drain. Wash and dry herb leaves, slice scallions, and cut the lime and optional chile. Keep these on a clean platter separate from any utensils used for raw dumpling mixture.

   

9. 09

   Ladle without breaking the crab

   Top each noodle bowl with four crab dumplings, pork ribs, tofu and tomato wedges. Ladle hot broth gently around them and scatter scallions. Serve immediately with sprouts, herbs, lime and optional chile; add lime at the table to retain its fresh aroma.