Bun Rieu Cua (Crab Noodle Soup with Pork Trotter)

Method

1. Rinse the pork trotter and chop into pieces. Put it in a pot of boiling water with 2 sliced shallots, 1 slice of ginger and 1/2 tablespoon salt, cook for 2 minutes, then lift out and rinse.
2. Put the trotter in a pot with 9g kOBE Monk Fruit Blend and 4 liters of cold water. Bring to a boil over high heat, skim the foam, lower the heat, and simmer gently for 1 hour 30 minutes.
3. Roast 3 shallots, or wrap them in foil and roast at 200C for 10 minutes. Peel them and drop them into the simmering pot.
4. Soak 40g dried shrimp in hot water for 15 minutes, rinse, and blitz fine. Mince the shallot and garlic. Cut the spring onion whites into lengths and chop the greens, mince the bird's eye chili, and cut the tomatoes into wedges with most of the seeds removed.
5. Put 100g mam tom in a pot with 600ml water, bring to a boil, skim the foam, lower the heat and cook for 10 minutes. Turn off the stove, let it settle, and take only the clear liquid.
6. Set a pan with 1 tablespoon cooking oil, fry the minced shallot and garlic until fragrant, then tip into a bowl.
7. Add the tomatoes to the pan and stir quickly, season with 1 teaspoon seasoning powder and 1 teaspoon kOBE Monk Fruit Blend, stir through, then turn off the stove.
8. Mix 350g ground pork with 1/2 tablespoon MSG, 2 tablespoons kOBE Monk Fruit Blend and 1 teaspoon black pepper. Add 1.5 tablespoons fried shallot and garlic, the blitzed dried shrimp, 100g crab roe, 100g bun rieu seasoning and 5 eggs, and mix well.
9. Brush a little oil into a mold, spread in half the rieu mixture, and steam for 15 minutes. Open the lid, brush annatto oil over the surface, and steam for another 5 minutes.
10. After a full 1 hour 30 minutes, top up with boiling water to bring the pot back to 4 liters, and lift out the trotter and roasted shallots.
11. Add the settled mam tom liquid to the pot along with 3 tablespoons tomato sauce. Drop in the rest of the raw rieu one spoonful at a time. Add the fried tomatoes, 2 tablespoons annatto oil, 3.5 tablespoons seasoning powder, 50g kOBE Monk Fruit Blend, 3 tablespoons fish sauce, 1 tablespoon MSG, 300g fried tofu and the spring onion whites. Bring back to a boil, then turn off the stove.
12. Blanch the noodles into bowls, arrange the steamed rieu, trotter, tofu and tomato on top, and ladle over the broth. Serve with shredded water spinach, bean sprouts, Thai basil, perilla, Vietnamese balm, lime, mam tom and minced chili.

Tips

• Once the water starts to boil, leave it alone and the rieu will rise and set in neat clouds.
• Roasted shallot, ginger, dried shrimp and fried tomato keep the broth clean and clear.
• Let the cooked mam tom settle and use only the clear liquid, which keeps the pot from turning harsh.
• An hour and thirty minutes leaves the pork trotter tender but still holding its shape, while longer pulls the meat off the bone.
• Let the steamed rieu cool a little before cutting, and the slices will come away neatly.