Bún Riêu Instant Pot (Vietnamese Pork & Crab Noodle Soup)
Author: Katie Le | Katie’s Test Kitchen
Ingredients
- 7 tbsp of Quoc Viet Bun Rieu Soup Base
- about 2 tbsp size of rock sugar
- 4 to 6 tomatoes (sliced into large chunks)
- 1 shallot (thinly sliced)
- fried tofu (I usually purchase mine fresh at the grocery store, but you can buy frozen ones as well. How much to put depends on your love for fried tofu.)
- OPTIONAL – 1 lb of Conch (Ốc) with some smashed garlic to saute – Cleaned conch well with salt and vinegar. Sliced to bite sizes. Marinated for 15 minutes with 1 tbsp of fish sauce, 1 tbsp of sugar, tbsp of mushroom seasoning, and 1/4 tsp of ground pepper. Optional to add some sliced ginger.
- 1 lb of ground pork
- 1/2 cup of dried shrimps (soaked in warm water for 10 minutes or more. Chopped with a food processor.) OR 1/3 cup of crab meat
- 1 jar of Crab Paste with Soya Bean Oil (7 oz)
- 1 tsp of Shrimp Paste (Mam Tom)
- 1/4 tsp of fresh ground pepper
- 4 medium size eggs
- Rice noodle/vermicelli (cooked according to packaging instructions, flushed with cold water, squeezed out excess water, drained)
- sugar, salt, mushroom seasoning
- chopped green onion and cilantro
- split water spinach (rau muong che)
- bean sprout
- Vietnamese herbs such as mint, kinh giới (Vietnamese Balm), Tía tô (perilla) – Shrimp Paste (Mam Tom) serve on the side
- sliced fresh chili
- lime wedges
BROTH for 8-quart (15 cups of broth):
Option 1: Using homemade chicken broth that you cooked ahead of time. Here is my post of homemade broth using IP: Chicken Broth with IP
Option 2: Using store bought chicken broth. It tends to be high in sodium so I’d recommend to dilute with water (half broth, half water).
Option 3: Using traditional pork broth. About 2 lbs of pork bones (washed, parboiled on stove top for 5-10 minutes, rinsed well), and 1 large onion.
Option 4: Using spare ribs. About 3 lbs of spare ribs (washed, parboiled on stove top for 5 minutes, rinsed well), and 1 large onion.
Seasoning for Broth
TOPPINGS
THE RIEU
GARNISHES AND OTHERS
Directions
1. If you choose Option 1 or 2 for broth, simply heat it up on the stove top pot. For 15 cups of broth, season with 2 tbsp size pieces of rock sugar, and 7 tbsp of Quoc Viet Bun Rieu Soup Base. Adjust the broth to your taste with sugar, chicken powder or mushroom seasoning.
If you choose Option 3, place parboiled bones and onion into inner pot. Add rock sugar, soup base and about 7 cups of water to cover ingredients. If you are in a rush use boiling water to speed up pressure building time. Select Pressure Cook/Manual, High Pressure, 20 minutes. 15 minutes NPR or full NRP if you have time. Once pressure is released, open lid, remove and discard onion and bones. Add 8 more cups of boiling water. Cancel Keep Warm, select Saute Mode and Adjust to Normal heat.
If you choose Option 4, place parboiled spare ribs and onion into inner pot. Add rock sugar, soup base and about 7 cups of water to cover ingredients. If you are in a rush use boiling water to speed up pressure building time. Select Pressure Cook/Manual, High Pressure, 5 minutes. 15 minutes NPR or full NRP if you have time. Once pressure is released, open lid, remove and discard onion. Add 8 more cups of boiling water. Cancel Keep Warm, select Saute Mode and Adjust to Normal heat and bring broth to a boil.
2. For the Rieu topping, in a mixing bowl combine ground pork, dried shrimps/crab meat, 1 jar of Crab Paste with Soya Bean, 1 tsp of shrimp paste, 1/4 tsp of ground pepper and 4 eggs. Mix well and set aside.
3. For the tomatoes, in a deep skillet, add about 2 tbsp of cooking oil and sliced shallot. When fragrant, add tomatoes and saute for about a minute. Season with 2 tbsp of mushroom seasoning and set aside (be careful not to over cook tomatoes).
4. For the conch if you are using, in a pan add some cooking oil and a few cloves of smashed garlic. Once the oil is hot add marinated conch and saute for 3-5 minutes. Remove from heat, set aside.
5. Once the broth comes to a gentle boil, use a small spoon (about tbsp size) scoop and slowly drop the mixed ground pork into the pot, 1 at a time. Once the pork balls float to the top they are cooked! Add fried tofu and lastly, add the saute tomatoes. Taste the broth again and adjust as needed using sugar, salt, mushroom seasoning, soup base… etc.
6. To serve, add cooked noodle into a bowl, ladle boiling broth on top. Add fried tofu and tomatoes. Garnish with chopped green onion and cilantro. Serve with bean sprout, split water spinach, various Vietnamese herbs, pepper, lime wedges and Shrimp Paste!
Hi! I was wondering is there any ingredient measurement change if I make the Bun Rieu in a 6 quart IP since I don’t have the 8 quart one and I really want to try this recipe and I’m an IP newbie lol. Any information helps and thanks so much!
Hi Christine, reduce to about 11 cups of broth and start with 5 tbsp of Quoc Viet Bun Rieu Soup Base. Everything else can be the same.
Katie,
This is the 4th recipe of yours that I have tried, and every single one has turned out so tasty! Thank you so much for sharing your recipes and tips.
Thank you, Michelle! I’m glad you liked them.
Is the rock sugar absolutely necessary?? If so where can I find it
I’m a IP newbie and was a little nervous trying to make bun rieu in an IP, but your recipe turned out great. My family loved it ! Thank you so much for sharing
You’re so welcome! I’m glad the family enjoyed it!
What brand of crabmeat do you use? Are the canned crabmeat any good to use? Which one do you prefer?
I get mine from Costco or Sam’s in the seafood section. They are in containers sealed. The cans are okay too.
Hi Katie! I’m sorry, but I’m a bit confused at the last section of the first step because it told me to pressure cook/manual and I’m using chicken broth instead of the traditional pork broth. Since I already heat up my chicken broth on the stovetop as instructed, I figured is it necessary to use the Instant Pot or to just continue using the stovetop then? Thanks Katie!
Hi Sarah, Please continue with the stovetop if you are using chicken broth.
Katie, how do make this recipe without powder bun rieu soup base?
Katie, how can I make this recipe if I don’t have the QV bun Rieu soup base?
Hi Tee, you could. Just use salt, sugar, mushroom seasoning/chicken powder… etc to season your broth in the end. Cater to your taste.
Love it , I will made today , thank you Katie gor a great recipe .
You’re so welcome!
Hi Katie! This is going to sound crazy, but bun rieu is my absolute favorite. Unfortunately, I’ve recently become allergic to shrimp 😭. Is there a substitute for mam tom?
Hi Carolyn, you can omit it. Add half a tsp of salt instead. I believe my mom mentioned once that there is a vegetarian version of mam tom. You can try look for it at your Asian stores.
This looks so good! Can’t have eggs tho. Can I omit and how will it change the taste of the recipe? Thanks!
The eggs hold the rieu together. So you can omit but the rieu will be loose, which is okay too in my opinion.
Hi, Can you use Shrimp Paste with Soya Bean Oil instead of Crab? Thanks!
Yes!
When do you transfer the chicken stock to the ip?
Hi, if you are using pre-made or can chicken stock you don’t need to use the IP. Bring it to a boil on a stove top pot. If you like to use the IP you could by using Saute option (lid off, not under pressure).
Thanks,
Katie
I used your BBH instapot recipe and loved how it came out. I’d like to try this bun rieu recipe but was wondering about the ốc you mentioned. Are they fresh or frozen? I’ve never purchased the fresh ones, so I’m a bit intimidated at the thought of having to clean them.
Hi, I buy them at the fish/seafood section at Asian market. They are technically frozen, but they defrost them there and sell by the pound. I just clean them with salt and warm water. Not much work at all.
Thank you for the quick reply!
I made this today. Very yummy! Thanks for sharing ♥️