Thick Rice Noodle Soup with Crab

What to get ready

• Rice noodle strands 1.3 lb
• Sea crab 1.3 lb
• Prawns 7.1 oz
• Pork bones 1.3 lb
• Vietnamese pork paste 7.1 oz
• Tapioca starch 1.4 oz
• Salted duck eggs 2
• Spring onion 1.4 oz
• Coriander 0.7 oz
• Crispy fried shallots 0.7 oz
• Fish sauce 2 ⅔ tbsp
• Black pepper 0.1 oz
• Oil 2 ⅔ tbsp
• Dried shallots 2

Method

1. 1 Steam the crab for 15 minutes, remove the meat, and reserve the steaming liquid to use for making broth.
2. 2 Simmer pork bones for 45 minutes to make broth, then strain to remove any sediment.
3. 3 Shape the minced pork into small balls and boil them for 5 minutes; blanch the shrimp for 2-3 minutes until just cooked, then remove them from the pot.
4. 4 Mix the cornstarch with water and gradually pour it into the pot to thicken the broth.
5. 5 Add the rice noodles and cook for 5 minutes, then season with fish sauce and pepper to taste.
6. 6 Scoop into a bowl, arrange the cooked crab meat and shrimp on top, along with the salted egg, and sprinkle with fried onions and cilantro.

With an appliance

• Pressure cooker 1 hr

  Replace step 2: cook pork bones under high pressure for 15 minutes, then let them rest naturally for 10 minutes; reduce cooking time to about 20 minutes. This will result in a richer, sweeter broth without the need for constant monitoring. Crab, shrimp, and rice noodles can still be added later to prevent them from becoming mushy.