Bún Riêu — Crab & Tomato Noodle Soup

Ingredients

• 8 oz crab meat
• 8 oz ground pork
• 3 eggs
• 6 Tomatoes, cut into wedges
• 4 cups Water Spinach, cut into lengths
• 8 cups pork or chicken stock
• 3 tbsp fermented shrimp paste
• 3 tbsp fish sauce
• 3 tbsp annatto oil
• 5 shallots, minced
• 3 tbsp tamarind paste
• 1 lb rice vermicelli
• 1 cup fried tofu puffs
• 1 cup Vietnamese herbs and shredded lettuce
• 1 lime, in wedges

Method

1. Beat the crab meat, ground pork, eggs, half the shallots, 1 tbsp fish sauce, and a pinch of pepper together into a loose paste. This is the riêu.
2. Fry the remaining shallots and the Tomatoes in the annatto oil until the tomatoes slump and turn the oil red, 6 minutes. Add the stock and bring to a gentle simmer.
3. Whisk the shrimp paste with a ladle of hot broth, let the grit settle, and add only the clear liquid to the pot along with the tamarind and remaining fish sauce.
4. Drop the riêu mixture in by the spoonful into barely simmering broth and leave it completely alone for 5 minutes. It will set into soft orange rafts and float; stirring turns it into cloudy crumbs.
5. Add the tofu puffs and Water Spinach and cook 3 minutes until the greens are just tender.
6. Divide cooked vermicelli into bowls, ladle the broth and rafts over, and serve with herbs, lettuce, and lime.