Banh canh cua (Vietnamese noodle with crab soup)

Directions

1. Fill a large stockpot with 3 cups of water and bring to a boil.
2. Place the crabs in the water and steam for 15 minutes or until their shells are orange-red and their bellies turn white.
3. Save the crab stock. Remove the meat from the body and claws, and save the juice from the body.
4. In a separate stockpot, fill 10 cups of water and cook the pork neck bones for 2 hours on medium heat.
5. For the soup, pour the strained the pork stock, 2 cups of crab stock, and juice from the crabs into a separate stockpot. Add fish sauce. Let the soup simmer on low heat for 30 minutes and remove any scum at the surface.
6. Season with salt and sugar to taste. Add 1/2 a cup of water at a time if the soup becomes too salty for your taste.
7. Boil the tapioca noodles until semi-clear. Strain and leave in cold water so they do not expand.
8. When ready to serve, add half a cup of noodles to a serving bowl, top with crab meat and shrimps and then add soup.
9. Garnish with green onions, cilantro, pepper, and Bird's eye chile pepper.