Vietnamese Crab Soup (Bun Rieu) Recipe

Serves/Makes: 6 – 8

Ingredients:

• 2 pounds paddy field or mud crab
• Salt
• Water
• 1 large tomato, cut in 6 pieces and seeded
• 3 cloves garlic, crushed
• 2 tablespoons chopped baby leeks
• 2 tablespoon tamarind pulp
• 8 ounces fried bean curd
• Sugar
• 1 tablespoon shrimp paste
• 1 pound rice noodles
• 1/4 cup cilantro leaves
• 1/4 cup shredded banana blossom
• 1 red chili, finely sliced
• 1/2 cup bean sprouts
• 1/4 cup mint leaves
• 1/2 cup shredded water spinach
• 1/4 cup ngo gai leaves
• 1 lime, cut in wedges

How to cook Vietnamese Crab Soup (Bun Rieu):

• Rinse crabs. Remove the top shell and rinse again, then drain. Place crabs in a large bowl and pound with some salt, add water, stir and strain to obtain crab liquid (use a sieve). Pound crab sediments again and set aside.
• In a large soup pot, bring crab liquid to a boil. When crab meat floats on the surface, reduce heat to simmer. Clarify liquid and set residue aside (this should form a dense crab patty).
• In a separate pan, stir-fry the tomatoes with the garlic, baby leeks and fish sauce, then add tamarind pulp and bean curd. Season with sugar, salt and shrimp paste, then add to crab. Simmer for a few minutes. To serve, place rice noodles in a bowl, pour in the soup.
• Serve the Vietnamese Crab Soup (Bun Rieu) with cilantro leaves, banana blossom, chili, bean sprouts, mint leaves, water spinach, ngo gai and a few wedges of lime.

Notes:
The Vietnamese Crab Soup recipe very easy to prepare and so good!
The Vietnamese name for this recipe is Bun Rieu.

Hints:
The standard garnish of leaves is also served with the various hand rolls.
Since paddy field crab is difficult to find, try using whatever small variety of crab is available.

This recipe for Vietnamese Crab Soup (Bun Rieu) serves/makes: 6 – 8

The Vietnamese Crab Soup (Bun Rieu) recipe is adopted from The Food of Vietnam – 1997.

Main Ingredient: Crab 
Preparation Method: Soup/Stew 
Cuisine: Vietnamese