Vietnamese Crab Noodle Soup – Bun Rieu

• In a large stockpot clean the pork bones, add about 2 inches of water and bring to a boil. Add the Pork bones and cook for about 5 minutes. Drain and wash the pot.
• Fill the stockpot with 4.5 Litres of water and bring to a boil. Add the pork bones, tamaring paste, and onion and boil for 15 minutes.
• Cut the tomatoes into quarters. Add to the pot. Add the palm sugar and 1 1/2 tsp of salt. Simmer for another 15-20 minutes.
• In the meantime prepare the crab meatballs, In a large bowl put the minced pork, 2 tsp salt, ground white pepper, eggs, and the jar of crab paste with bean oil, mix well.
• In another large bowl place the noodles and submerge them in cold water.
• While the soup is simmering on medium high heat, drop large spoonfuls of crab mixture into the pot. Continue until there is no more mixture. Boil without the lid for another 15-20 minutes.
• Add some boiling water back into the soup, back to the amount of water when we first started with. It will be pretty clear how much has reduced. Add the fish sauce and tofu. Taste for seasoning and add more salt if needed.

to assemble

• In a small pot bring some water to a boil and add the noodles, the noodles I buy are already individual portions. It is about 1 1/2 cups of cooked noodles per person. Boil the noodles for 30 seconds, drain and place in a bowl. Serve with desired garnishes and a squeeze of lime and chili paste. For those who like a little more salt add a teaspoon of fish sauce. Enjoy!