Bun rieu - vietnamese crab rice noodle soup recipe

Ingredients

• 6 qts of pork, chicken or shrimp broth
• 3 qts of water
• 4-6 fresh tomatoes, quartered, seeds removed
• 2 28 oz canned whole tomatoes
• 4 oz of tomato paste
• 2 7 oz crab paste with soya oil
• 10 eggs
• 5-8 shallots, chopped
• 8 cloves of garlic, chopped
• 12-16 ounces of crab meat
• Fish Sauce, according to taste
• Tamarind Soup Base powder, according to taste
• Salt, according to taste
• vegetable oil

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Preparation

• Heat the 10qt pot, pour enough vegetable oil to coat the bottom of the pot and stir in the shallots and garlic until slightly brown 1-2 mins.
• Turn the heat to low, throw in the fresh tomatoes and liberally sprinkle with salt to help draw out the water, cook for 10 mins or until soft.
• Turn the heat to medium, add the canned tomatoes, broth and water. Do not crush the tomatoes, stir until heated through, simmer for a few minutes to join the flavors.
• Season with fish sauce and salt to taste. Add the tamarind soup base by pinches, the tamarind is very sour so start slow and adjust to taste.
• Bring the soup to a boil, while waiting beat the eggs, crab paste and a quarter of the fresh crab meat. Reserve the rest of the crab meat to garnish the bowls.
• Once the soup comes to a boil, add the tomato paste and stir. The soup will start to thicken, turn the heat to low and slowly pour in the egg crab mixture. Do not turn up the heat as a rolling boil will break the crab paste into pieces. The soup is done when all the egg crab mixture float to the top.
• Put the bún in the bowl garnished with fried tofu, scallions and fresh crab meat. Ladle the piping hot soup and serve with the rest of the fresh accompaniments. Don't forget the dollop of shrimp paste.