Bún Rieu (Hanoi Crab & Tomato Vermicelli Soup) 🦀

Method

1. 1

   Mix 2/3 of the crab meat with pork, egg white, fish sauce and pepper; chill 20 min. With wet hands, shape into flat discs the size of a golf ball.

2. 2

   Bring stock to a bare simmer with tomato paste; drop in the discs and poach them 4-5 min without boiling — they set, sweeten the broth, and float.

3. 3

   Add tomatoes and the dissolved shrimp paste, seasoned with fish sauce; simmer 10 min so the broth turns coral-orange and tastes of sea and barnyard at once. Skim often; keep it at 'bare shudder', not rolling.

4. 4

   Throw in clams and remaining picked crab; once shells open (2-3 min) the soup is done. For the Hanoi version, a cube of congealed pork blood goes in at this stage if you can source it fresh.

5. 5

   Nest a portion of bún in each bowl, ladle broth and discs over, clams perched on top.

6. 6

   Serve the herb plate separately: banana blossom, rau răm, lime squeezed hard, chili sliced into the bowl. Noodles go in cold-ish; the broth at a shout — that temperature argument is why locals drink the soup twice as fast as tourists.