Crab and Tomato Vermicelli Soup — Bun Rieu Cua
Northern Vietnamese rich crab and tomato vermicelli soup with floating crab-and-pork rieu dumplings in a tangy fermented-rice broth, served over rice noodles with banana blossom, perilla, mint, and a dash of shrimp paste.
Vietnamese
Categories
Nutrition per Serving
Ingredients
For 2 servings
Instructions
Prep
Mince shallot and garlic. Halve tomatoes, scoop seeds, chop fine. Slice scallion, chillies into rings, banana blossom thin, quarter limes. Pick herb leaves from stems. Whisk crab, pork, eggs, half shallot and garlic, fish sauce, white pepper until sticky and uniform.
Build 1
Steep annatto seeds in 2 tbsp oil over low heat 4 minutes until oil turns brick-red. Strain off heat into a bowl, set aside to colour the broth.
Saute
Heat 2 tbsp oil in a heavy pot over medium 1 minute. Add remaining shallot and garlic 1 minute until fragrant. Stir in tomato paste 1 minute until darkened and raw smell mellows.
Simmer
Add chopped tomato, stock, fermented rice, brown sugar over high heat to a boil. Drop to gentle simmer 30 minutes until broth turns tangy, tomato breaks down into cloudy red soup.
Poach
Drop tablespoon-sized rieu mixture into simmering broth over low heat 8–10 minutes until rieu floats and turns spongy. Stir in shrimp paste, salt, annatto oil. While broth simmers, boil vermicelli separately 4 minutes, drain.
Plate
Pile vermicelli in deep bowls. Ladle hot rieu broth over, scatter scallion, herbs, banana blossom, sprouts, chilli. Serve lime alongside for squeezing.
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