Canh bún rạm (freshwater crab vermicelli soup)

Ingredients

• 500 g of fresh, small blue crabs (also known as “jumbo”)
• 1 kg of fresh rice vermicelli (bún)
• 500 g of pork bones
• 3 tomatoes
• 500 g of water spinach (also known as morning glory or rau muống)
• 3 pieces of fried tofu
• 150 to 200g of cooked pork blood
• salt, glutamate, rocou oil, powdered seasoning, oil, pepper, long coriander
• small cabbage

Wash the crab and remove the apron.

Simmer the pork bones until they are tender. Mix the crab meat with 2 cups of water, strain through a sieve, and gently heat with 1 teaspoon of salt: the crab meat will rise to the surface as it coagulates.

Retrieve it from the skimmer and reserve it; pour the bone broth into the crab juice and bring to a boil.

Sauté the tomato pieces in oil with 1 teaspoon of chili oil, then add them to the broth along with the pork blood and small pieces of tofu. Season to taste.

Add the finely chopped chives and cilantro. Blanch the seaweed in boiling salted water. Place the vermicelli in a bowl, add the bones, crab meat, tofu, blood, and seaweed, then pour in the hot broth.