Making Vietnamese noodle soup as a stay at home mom | bun rieu | step by step instructions

DRIED SHRIMP
3 oz dried shrimp
5 cups hot water

MEAT PASTE:
14 OZ prawn in spices
12 oz canned crab meat
1 lb ground pork
1 eggs

SAUTEED TOMATOES
1/4 cup cooking oil
10 cloves minced garlic
1 small onion, diced
5 roma tomatoes, cut into wedges
1 TBSP fish sauce

ADDITIONAL INGREDIENTS
2 liters of water
2-3 lbs pork ribs
1.5 tsp salt
2 TBSP sugar
1.5 TBSP tamarind powder
1 TBSP shrimp paste
Fried tofu


DRIED SHRIMP
1. Soak all of the ingredients listed under DRIED SHRIMP for at least 30 mins. After 30 mins, remove shrimp BUT RESERVE THE LIQUID
2. Add shrimp into a food processor and blend
3. After your shrimp has ran through a food processor, add it to all the ingredients listed under MEAT PSATE. Combine well and set aside.

SAUTED TOMATOES
1. Heat up 1/4 cup oil. Once oil is hot, saute garlic til fragrant.
2. Then add diced onions and saute til slightly translucent
3. Then add tomatoes and cook for 1-3 minutes. Not too long, tomatoes should still hold shape
4. Set this aside

BROTH
1. Combine 2 liters of water with the 5 cups of hot shrimp water. Bring this to a boil

2. Once boiling, add blanched spareribs* and bring back to boil. Once boiling again, reduce heat and simmer for 30 mins.

3. After 30 mins, add your SAUTED TOMATOES, salt, sugar, tamarind powder and shrimp paste. Combine well until ingredients are dissolved.

4. Then add fried tofu and MEAT PASTE. When adding MEAT PASTE, add 1 large spoonful at a time. Cook this until the PASTE floats to the top.

5. Your broth is now done

6. Assemble your bowl with vermicelli noodles, scallion, cilantro and preferred veggies (I used shredded cabbage and purple onion for color)

*spare ribes: I placed my spareribs/ pork into a pot an filled it will water, 3-4 slices of ginger and ~10 pepper corns. I brought this to a boil and then dumped the liquid and washed the pork clean. The ginger and peppercorn helps with the small of the pork.