Bun Rieu
Ingredients
Bun Rieu Broth
- 9 cups water
- 5 medium sized tomatoes, sliced length-wise
- 1 medium sized onion, sliced length-wise
- 3/4 cup dried shrimp (optional)
- 2 Tbsp fish sauce
- 1 Tbsp salt
- 1 Tbsp chicken bouillon
- 2 Tbsp tamarind
Shrimp and Pork Meatballs
- 3/4 pound ground pork
- 1 egg
- 1 5.6 oz can of minced prawns in spices
Noodles
- salt
- 1/2 28 oz bag of rice vermicelli
Toppings
- 1 green onions, chopped for garnishes
- lettuce or youchoi (optional)
- slices of cha lua/Vietnamese ham (optional)
Instructions
- Boil 9 cups of water in a big pot to make the soup
- While waiting for the pot of water to boil, slice the tomatoes and the onion to put into the pot. Once the pot of water boils, add both to the pot.
- To enhance the flavor of the soup, measure 3/4 cup of dried shrimp and rinse it under cold water for a few seconds before adding it to the pot. The water in the pot takes about 15 minutes to boil. Once the water boils, turn it to low heat.
- Now, put the 3/4 pound of ground pork on the cutting board and chop it for about 5 minutes. The chopping helps hold the meatball together better.
- Put the ground pork into a mixing bowl. Crack the egg into the mixing bowl. Then use a can opener to open the can of minced shrimp in spices and scoop the minced shrimp into the mixing bowl. Mix everything thoroughly.
- Turn the pot of soup from low heat back to high heat. Using a spoon, scoop enough of the meatball gently to slide the meatball into the soup. Once all the meatballs have been added to the broth, let it boil for about half an hour and then lower to low heat. Once the meatballs float to the top of the broth, the broth is ready for the flavoring to be added.
- While waiting for the meatballs to float to the top of the broth, boil a second pot of water. This pot will be used to cook the noodles. Sprinkle some salt into the pot. Once the water boils, put the noodles in. Wait until the noodles boil (5 minutes). When there are a lot of bubbles rising to the top, turn off the stove. Let it sit for 10-15 minutes. Check on it to see if the noodles are to your liking. When ready, pour the noodles out into a colander. Rinse the noodles with cold water and let it cool.
- Add the fish sauce, chicken bouillon, salt, and tamarind to the soup. Wait for the soup to boil and then turn it to low heat for half an hour.
- While waiting for the flavor to be enhanced in the soup, chop some lettuce or youchoi and green onions. If you choose to eat youchoi, you will need to bowl a pot of water first to cook the vegetables before adding it to your bun rieu. You may also slice cha lua to include in the bun rieu as well.
- Now you are ready to prepare your bowl of goodness! Add the vegetable of choice to the bowl. Then add the noodles and soup. Add the noodles, cha lua (optional) and soup. Include the chopped green onions as garnish, if you like green onions. Enjoy!
Notes
I really like eating bun rieu with the homemade fish cakes. Try it and let me know what you think!