Bun Rieu (Vietnamese Crab Noodle Soup)

INGREDIENTS
- 4-5 chopped (cubes) tomatoes
- 3 tablespoons chopped onions
- 3 tablespoons fish sauce
- 3 tablespoons chicken boullon
- 1/2 jar of crab meat
- 2 lbs of ground pork
- 1 lb shrimp
- 1 can of minced crab in spices
- 1-2 bag of vermicelli
- 1.5 tablespoon oil
Optional:
- Sriracha
- Cilantro
- Green Onions (minced)
- Limes
DIRECTIONS
Vermicelli
In a medium size pot, boil enough water for 1 bag of vermicelli. Put a little bit of oil in the pot, so the noodles won’t stick. Put in the noodles once the water boils. Stir occasionally. The noodles should be done within 8-10 minutes. You can tell if the noodles are ready when you lift a noodle and be easily broken in half. Pour noodles to a strainer and wash with cold water.
Meat
Cut the shrimp into smaller pieces until it’s pasty like ground pork.
Put the ground pork, crab meat, can of mince spices, and shrimp in a large bowl and mix it together.
Broth
Put onions and oil in another medium size pot and turn it on medium heat. Swirl the onions in the oil until it caramelizes (5-7 minutes). Then pour water into the pot after the onion is caramelized (water should be about half the size of the pot). Wait until the water boils. Put the tomatoes in the pot. Then using a spoon, scoop the mixed meat into balls and put it in the pot slowly. Turn down the heat and wait until the meat cooks. It should be around 7-8 minutes. Add the fish sauce and chicken bouillon and cook for another 2 minutes.
Serving
Put the vermicelli in a soup bowl and then add the broth on top.
If you like limes, add the lime on top as well as the sriracha for an added spicy taste.