Vietnamese meat and crab soup
Ingredients
- 1 kg – Mud crabs
- 1 kg – Pork bones
- 50 g – Dried shrimps
- 1/2 teaspoon – Salt, or to taste
- 1 tablespoon – Cooking oil
- 3 cloves – Garlic, peeled and crushed
- 2 – Large tomatoes, each cut into wedges
- 1 – tablespoon Annatto seed oil
- 2 – pieces Firm bean curd, cut into small cubes and fried
- 1 – tablespoon Tamarind pulp
- 1 – teaspoon Sugar
- 2 – tablespoon Fish sauce
- 1 – tablespoon Fine shrimp paste
- 1 – kg Fresh rice vermicelli
For garnishing
- 1 – Spring onion, chopped
- 1 – sprig Coriander (cilantro) leaves
- 1 – Banana but, outer layers removed, yellow centre shredded
- 1 – Red chili, thingly sliced
- 50g – Bean sprouts
- 2-3 – sprigs Mint leaves
- 2-3 – leaves Thai parsley leaves
- 2 – Limes, cut into wedges
- 2 – Fermented anchovy paste
Method :
– Pound crabs with some salt then mix with 2 liters water.
– Strain to get liquid then stir residue into another 2 liters water. Strain once more and discard residue.
– Pour strained water into a large pot. Add pork bones and dried shrimps.
– Bring to the boil and add salt to taste. Leave to boil for 1 hour 20 minutes then strain stock.
– Heat oil in a pan and stir fry garlic and tomatoes. Combine with annatto seed oil and pout into stock.
– Add fried bean curd and tamarind pulp. Season with sugar, fish sauce, shrimp paste and salt.
– Divide rice vermicelli equally into 6 serving bowls.
– Pour stock over and garnish with spring onion.
– Serve remaining garnishes on the side.