144 GOURMET TRAVELLER
200 gm pig’s blood (see note),
cut into 3 cm cubes
250 gm fried tofu (see note)
4 ripe Roma tomatoes, halved
450 gm rice vermicelli
1 bunch coriander, leaves
picked, to serve
Thinly sliced spring onions,
to serve
Mam tom shrimp paste
(optional; see note), to serve
BROTH
1 kg pork bones (shin bones
have the best flavour)
2 kg chicken bones
1 kg pork hock, cut into
8 x 3cm rounds (see note)
300 ml fish sauce
100 gm caster sugar
2 tbsp salt flakes
CRAB MOUSSE
1 tbsp vegetable oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 red shallots, minced
200 gm crab paste with
soybean oil (see note)
70 gm dried shrimp, soaked
in water for at least 2 hours,
drained and minced
500 gm minced pork
2 eggs
250 gm fresh picked crabmeat
1 tbsp fish sauce
2 tsp caster sugar
SALAD
200 gm Chinese water spinach
500 gm bean sprouts
1 bunch mint (optional),
leaves picked
1 bunch shiso leaves1 For broth, rinse bones
and hock under cold running
water, then transfer to a 10-litre
stockpot, cover with cold
water and bring to the boil
(10 minutes). Drain and rinse
bones and hock, then return
rinsed bones to a clean
stockpot, cover with water to
nearly the top of the pot. Bring
to the boil again, skimming
surface, then add hock, reduce
heat to low and simmer gently
until hock is soft and tender
(45 minutes to 1 hour). Remove
hock, cool, then refrigerate.
Continue to simmer stock
until liquid has reduced byabout a third (4-5 hours).
Add fish sauce, sugar and
salt, adjusting to taste. Strain
stock into a clean saucepan
and discard bones.
2 For crab mousse, heat oil
in a frying pan over medium
heat, add garlic and shallot and
stir until fragrant and softened
(2-3 minutes). Add crab paste
and dried shrimp and cook,
stirring, for 5 minutes, then cool.
Combine pork, eggs, crabmeat
and cooled shrimp mixture in
a bowl and season with fish
sauce and sugar.
3 For salad, pick water spinach
leaves and reserve for another
use. Shred stems with a morning
glory shredder (or cut into
julienne). Soak in cold water
until ready to serve, then drain
and transfer to a serving platter.
4 Arrange remaining salad
ingredients on a serving platter.
5 Bring a saucepan of water to
the boil, add pig’s blood and
boil for 10 minutes. Remove
and plunge into iced water.
Drain when cool and trim.
6 Bring stock to a simmer. In
batches, spoon golf ball-sized
portions of mousse into stock
and cook until balls rise to the
top (1 minute). Continue to cook
for a further 5 minutes, then
remove with a slotted spoon.
Reduce heat to low, add tofu
and tomato to stock and simmer
until tender (10 minutes). Return
hock to stock to warm through.
7 Cook vermicelli according
to packet instructions, then
drain, run under cold water
until cool and drain again.
8 Divide noodles among bowls
and ladle over stock. Add crab
mousse, pig’s blood and hock,
and top with spring onion and
coriander. Serve with salad and
small bowls of shrimp paste.
Note Pig’s blood is available
from Asian butchers. Fried
tofu, crab paste with soybean
oil and mam tom shrimp paste
are available from Asian
supermarkets. Pork hock is
available from butchers; ask
the butcher to cut it into rounds.BÚN RIÊU
Crab noodle soup
SERVES 8This extract from Street Food
Vietnam by Jerry Mai (Smith
Street Books, $39.99, hbk)
has been reproduced with
minor GT style changes.