Bún Riêu

Bún riêu is rice noodles in a tomato-red broth built around a loose, curd-like crab-paste cake that breaks apart as it cooks. Ground freshwater crab, mixed with egg, sets into soft, crumbly clumps that float through the broth rather than staying in one piece — that loose, curdled texture is the dish's signature and the detail a bowl of bún riêu is judged on.

What it really is

Freshwater crab, shell and all, gets ground fine and strained, then the crab liquid simmers with egg and often a little pork until it sets into loose, curd-like clumps that rise to the top of the pot — this crab cake, riêu, gives the dish its name. Tomato cooks down into the broth until it turns a deep red-orange, and the finished soup goes over rice vermicelli with fried tofu, a few water spinach stems and a heavy scatter of fresh herbs, finished with a spoonful of fermented shrimp paste stirred in at the table for those who want the extra depth.

The crab cake is meant to look loosely curdled, not smooth or compact. A tightly set, uniform crab cake reads as a mistake in the kitchen — the soft, broken texture is what happens naturally when crab liquid and egg set together, and cooks don't try to smooth it out.

How it's served

• Hot, in a bowl, broth ladled over rice noodles with the crab cake broken into pieces.
• With fried tofu, water spinach and a heavy scatter of fresh herbs.
• With a spoonful of fermented shrimp paste offered separately, stirred in at the diner's discretion.

How to write it on the menu

• Flag the shellfish from the crab and the fish sauce and shrimp paste used in seasoning.
• Say if a vegetarian crab-free version, built on tofu and mushroom, is available, since the crab is otherwise central to the dish.
• Note the shrimp paste is optional and served separately, since its fermented flavour is assertive and not every guest will want it.

The ingredients, allergens and dietary notes listed here describe a typical recipe. They are not a binding declaration for any particular restaurant: recipes, portion sizes and the products used can differ.