Easy Delicious Bun Rieu Cua (Vietnamese Crab Noodle Soup)- Rice vermicelli noodles served in savory rich broth with tomato and umami-packed crab, dried shrimp, and egg mixture and fresh herbs. This is an easy version but still an incredibly tasty bun rieu cua.
May I share with you another one of my favorite Vietnamese noodle soup beside pho bo, pho ga, bun bo hue, and bun bo gio heo? Bun rieu cua my friend! bun rieu cua! If you like crabmeat, you will like bun rieu cua.
BUN RIEU CUA Bun rieu is not commonly seen in the restaurant menu. Almost everybody (Vietnamese or not) knows pho noodles nowadays! They are undeniably popular! But Vietnamese food is beyond pho noodles. I’m probably biased because I grew up in Southeast Asia, but I seriously love Southeast Asian food for its amazingly complex flavors. Vietnamese food is one of my favorites.
Bun rieu cua is basically a noodle soup topped with crabmeat, egg, sometimes ground pork, mixture and served in savory rich broth, tomatoes, and served with fresh herbs like tia to (Vietnamese perilla), Vietnamese balm (lemon mint), split water spinach stems, congealed pig’s blood cake. I didn’t include the split water spinach stems and blood cakes in this recipe. I love blood cakes, but the Asian store I went to do not have any in stock when I was there (bummer!). Nevertheless, it’s still tasty without it. There are also bun rieu ca (made with fish) and bun rieu oc (made with shellfish). 
THIS BUN RIEU CUA RECIPE IS SIMPLE AND EASY Traditionally, making bun rieu is a lot of work. Making the broth from scratch. Making the crab paste from scratch. I mean…everything is from scratch. That’s how grandmas cook back in the old days ? I simplified this bun rieu cua recipe by: 1. Using store-bought broth Traditionally pork bones are used to prepare the broth. It’s not overly complicated to prepare bone broth, but I find that store-bought organic bone broth is an acceptable substitute too and that’s what I used in this recipe 2. Using store-bought crabmeat paste (gia vi cua nau bun rieu) It’s a lot of work trying to make the crabmeat paste from scratch. Most people will use store-bought crabmeat paste these days. I use store-bought crabmeat paste in this recipe 
[disclosure] SPECIAL INGREDIENTS USED IN THIS BUN RIEU CUA RECIPE Crabmeat paste (gia vi cua nau bun rieu) Vietnamese perilla (tiá tô) Vietnamese balm (kinh-giới) Annatto seeds Shrimp paste
HOW TO EASILY MAKE BUN RIEU CUA 1. Prepare annatto seeds oil the day before or several days before 2. Use store-bought bone broth 3. Bring the broth to a boil and then season with fish sauce and sugar 4. Briefly cook tomatoes and fried tofu puffs in the broth 5. Spoon the crab egg mixture into the simmering broth 6. Have a final taste and adjust with adding more fish sauce and/or sugar if necessary
This dose of bun rieu cua definitely safisfied that craving! 
Recipe was originally published in 2014 and now updated with new photos.
