• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
Cooking Therapy logo
  • About Me
    • Work With Me
    • Contact
    • Disclaimer
  • Subscribe
  • Recipes
    • Recipe Index
    • 30 Minute Meals
    • Appetizers
    • Breakfast
    • Drinks
    • Main Dishes
      • Beef
      • Chicken & Poultry
      • Fish & Seafood
      • Pork
      • Tofu
    • Noodle Bowls & Soups
    • Side Dishes
    • Salads
    • Dips & Sauces
    • Sweets & Desserts
      • Bars & Brownies
      • Cakes
      • Candy & Confectionary
      • Cookies
      • Curds & Custards
      • Donuts
      • Ice Cream
      • Mochi
      • Pies & Tarts
  • Restaurant Guides
  • Nav Social Menu

    • Instagram
    • Pinterest

Home » Recipes » Noodle Bowls & Soups

Oct 2, 2021(updated Jul 21, 2022)

My Mom’s Bun Rieu | Vietnamese Crab Noodle Soup

4.84 from 30 votes

8 Comments

by Becca Du

Jump to Recipe Print Recipe
bun rieu

My go to comfort food will always be some type of Vietnamese noodle soup. Every time I eat a bowl, it reminds me of home in LA which I don’t get back to that much. One of my favorites is Bun Rieu. Bun Rieu is a noodle soup with a pork-based broth filled with tons of tomatoes and topped with a crab paste/egg mixture. It’s an unusual combination, but I promise you everyone whose tried it loves it. I also think it is better than Vietnamese favorites like pho and ca ri ga.

bun rieu

What is Bun Rieu?

Bun rieu is a really popular noodle soup in Vietnam and one of my personal favorites. It is characterized by a pork-based broth that has tomatoes, onions, dried shrimp, and a crab paste/egg mixture as a topping. All the ingredients give the broth a balance of salty and sweet flavors. The pork and dried shrimp make the broth sweet while the crab paste makes it a little bit salty. It is then served with vermicelli noodles and topped with vegetables and sometimes shrimp paste. I personally love to go simple with my toppings, so I just add green onions. Sometimes, I might add cha lua for extra flavor.

This noodle soup is well known for its signature red color. The red color comes from tomatoes, chili powder, and crab paste. All together, these simple ingredients make the broth one of the yummiest things in Vietnamese cuisine (in my humble opinion).

bun rieu

Ingredients, Substitutions & Adjustments

  • Pork – The pork is the basis of this broth. I love using pork shoulder for this broth because of the fat content and how sweet it is. You can use almost any cut of pork for this broth. I would just make sure the pork has a good amount of fat and/or bone which helps create for a rich broth. A good substitute for pork shoulder is pork butt.
  • Onion – Sweet yellow onion adds sweetness to this broth. A good substitute for yellow onion is white onion.
  • Dried shrimp – Dried shrimp adds more sweetness to this broth. If you can’t find dried shrimp, I would leave it out.
  • Chili powder & scallions – A mixture of red chili powder and scallions help give the soup its red color. If you can’t find chili powder, I would recommend substituting for paprika.
  • Roma tomatoes – You can use any kind of tomatoes for this recipe, but roma tomatoes are the best kind to use for bun rieu. They have the best texture in the finished broth.
  • Crab paste – Crab paste is essential to bun rieu. It helps give the broth its signature red color.
  • Eggs – The crab paste is mixed with eggs to give it the desired texture and to help it float in the soup.
  • Chicken broth – Adds more saltiness and sweetness to the broth.
  • Fish sauce – Adds umami flavor to the broth. I would recommend Three Crabs or Red Boat fish sauce.
  • Vermicelli noodles – Vermicelli noodles are the best kind of noodles to use for this recipe. They have the best texture and soak up the soup very well. If you can’t find vermicelli noodles, I would use any kind of thin rice noodle.
bun rieu

Making my bun rieu

First par boil the pork. Add the pork to a large soup pot and cover with water until it just covers the pork. Bring the water to a boil. Once the water boils, take out the pork pieces and set aside. Pour out the water. Transfer the pork back into the soup pan and cover it with fresh water. This process will help to clean the pork and produce a clear broth. Add in the onion, dried shrimp, and salt. Bring the water to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Simmer for 1.5 hours. While the soup is simmering, combine the scallions, chili powder, and oil in a pan. Cook for 10 seconds and set aside.

Once the soup has simmered for an hour and a half, add this mixture to the soup with the tomatoes. This mixture and the tomatoes will help give the soup its signature red color. Simmer for another 30 minutes. As the soup is simmering, combine the eggs and crab paste in a small bowl. Whisk them together and set aside. Once the soup has simmered for 30 minutes, add in the egg/crab paste mixture, chicken broth, and fish sauce. Stir everything together. Once the egg and crab mixture floats to the top of the soup, the soup should be done.

Taste the soup to make sure there is enough flavor in the soup. If it tastes bland, add more fish sauce into the soup. Now it’s time to assemble your bowls of noodle soup. Add some cooked vermicelli noodles to a bowl. Ladle some soup over the noodles and garnish with leftover green onions. Add a squeeze a lime before serving.

bun rieu

Tips on how to make the perfect bun rieu

  1. Par boil the pork – Pork has unsavory meaty flavors, so it is important to par boil the pork before making the broth. This is the key to getting a clear broth. To do this, cover pork with water in a soup pot. Bring to a boil. Then dump out all the water and rinse the pork. Now you are ready to make the soup!
  2. Spoon off the impurities – While you simmer the broth, impurities will float to the top of the broth. Par boiling the broth gets rid of most of it, but it doesn’t get rid of all of it. I would recommend checking on the soup every 15 minutes to check for impurities. Spoon them off the top if you see them.
  3. The longer you simmer the broth, the tastier it will be – The fact is soup tastes better the next day, and that’s because the liquid has had more time to take on the flavors of all the ingredients. You can simmer broths for as long as you want, and the more time you simmer, the tastier the broth will be. I would just be careful about heating the broth so much it boils. Boiling the broth for long periods of time will make it cloudy. That means you definitely need to check on it from time to time.
  4. Customize your toppings – You can top this soup with a variety of herbs and vegetables. I like to keep it simple with green onions. You can also top it with shredded cabbage, mint, bean sprouts, blood cake, and other various Vietnamese herbs.
bun rieu

Bun Rieu

Becca Du
A comforting noodle soup with a pork based broth, vermicelli noodles, and crab.
4.84 from 30 votes
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 30 mins
Cook Time 2 hrs
Course Main Course
Cuisine Vietnamese
Servings 4 people
Calories 358 kcal

Ingredients
 
 

  • 2 ½ lb pork shoulder cut into 2 inch pieces
  • 1 yellow onion
  • 10 dried shrimp
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 3 stalks scallions
  • 1 tsp chili powder
  • 6 roma tomatoes halved
  • 1 can chicken broth
  • 3 tbsp fish sauce
  • 1 cup crab paste
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 lime
  • 2 packages vermicelli noodles
  • 1 stalk green onions for garnish

Instructions
 

  • Put the pork into a large soup pan. Cover the pork with water until it just covers the pork. Bring the water to a boil. Once the water boils, take out the pork pieces and set aside. Pour out the water. Transfer the pork back into the soup pan and cover it with fresh water. This process will help to clean the pork and produce a clear broth.
  • Add in the onion, dried shrimp, and the salt. Bring the water to a boil. Reduce to low heat and simmer the soup for an hour and a half.
  • While the soup is simmering, combine the 1 tablespoon of scallions, chili powder, and oil in a pan. Cook for 10 seconds and set aside. Watch the scallions carefully because they burn easily.
  • Once the soup has simmered for an hour and a half, add this mixture to the soup with the tomatoes. This mixture and the tomatoes will help give the soup its signature red color. Simmer for another 30 minutes.
  • As the soup is simmering, combine the eggs and crab paste in a small bowl. Whisk them together and set aside.
  • Once the soup has simmered for 30 minutes, add in the egg/crab paste mixture, chicken broth, and fish sauce. Stir everything together. Once the egg and crab mixture floats to the top of the soup, the soup should be done.
  • Taste the soup to make sure there is enough flavor in the soup. If it tastes bland, add more fish sauce into the soup.
  • Now it's time to put it all together. Add some cooked vermicelli noodles to a bowl. Ladle some soup over the noodles and garnish with leftover green onions. Add a squeeze a lime before serving.

Notes

  • You can use any cut of pork to make this dish. Pork with bones make the best and richest broth.
  • You can add more toppings to this dish to make it your own. Some toppings I’ve used are cha lua, shredded cabbage, bean sprouts, and fried tofu. Make sure to soak the dried shrimp for 10 minutes to soften them up.
  • For extra added flavor, add a small spoonful of shrimp paste to your bowl of noodles.

Nutrition

Serving: 1bowlCalories: 358kcalCarbohydrates: 10gProtein: 42gFat: 16gSaturated Fat: 5gCholesterol: 267mgSodium: 2198mgPotassium: 1046mgFiber: 3gSugar: 5gVitamin A: 1221IUVitamin C: 29mgCalcium: 91mgIron: 4mg
Keyword bun rieu, bun rieu recipe
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
If you love this post, share it!
  1.3K    
VietnameseGluten-FreeFallWinterFish Sauce, Vermicelli Noodles

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Ezra says

    February 6, 2019 at 5:48 pm

    Can I use fresh shrimp instead of dried?

    Reply
    • Becca says

      February 6, 2019 at 6:10 pm

      Hi Ezra! Yes you can use fresh shrimp. I would add 1/2 a pound of fresh shrimp to sub in for the dried shrimp. Let me know if you have any more questions!

      Reply
  2. Cindy Louie says

    May 15, 2020 at 1:56 pm

    what brand vermicelli noodles did you use for your bun rieu?

    Reply
    • Becca says

      May 15, 2020 at 1:58 pm

      I always use Three Ladies Brand vermicelli noodles for every recipe. They’re simply the best!

      Reply
  3. Kim says

    August 27, 2020 at 5:45 pm

    What kind of crab paste do you use?

    Also, love your recipes! I tried to subscribe to your page but it doesn’t seem to be working.

    Reply
    • Becca says

      August 27, 2020 at 7:49 pm

      Hi Kim. Thanks for letting me know about the subscribe issue! It should be fixed! In terms of the crab paste, I honestly go by what my grocery store has. One that I have used a few times is the Lee Brand Crab Paste: https://www.vwasianfood.com/products/lee-spicy-crab-paste-7-oz-24-count.

      Reply
  4. Cindy says

    January 2, 2023 at 7:22 am

    5 stars
    I just made this during the weekend and it was delicious. My husband and I loved it. I broiled the onion beforehand for a bit of the smoky flavor and added 1tsp shrimp paste while cooking. Thank you for the recipe!

    Reply
    • Becca Du says

      January 2, 2023 at 1:16 pm

      Oh!! I have to try this with broiled onion! I bet that added some amazing flavor. Thank you for trying my recipe! 🙂

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

About Me


Hello I'm Becca! I believe any day can be made better with a bowl of noodle soup. Here you will find recipes from my Chinese/Vietnamese heritage and stories from my experience living here in beautiful LA. Grab a drink and stay awhile! Read More

Lunar New Year 2023

Featured recipes for lunar new year 2023

Never Miss A Post!

Subscribe to get monthly doses of cooking inspiration and foodie goodness in our inbox.

Winter Soups

vietnamese chicken tomato soup

Vietnamese Chicken Tomato Soup

pho recipe

Traditional Vietnamese Beef Pho (Pho Bo)

Ragu ga in a bowl with a spoon in the stew.

Ragu Ga (Vietnamese Chicken Ragu)

Search

Footer

Privacy Policy · Terms & Conditions · All Rights Reserved

Copyright © 2023 · Cooking Therapy