5 c  Pork stock [Chicken works

           -just fine. S.C.]
    1/2 c  Minced or ground pork

      1 tb Chopped garlic

      3 tb Fish sauce

    1/2 c  Tapioca

    1/2 c  Cooked or canned crab meat

           Pepper
----------------------------------GARNISH----------------------------------
      4    Lettuce leaves, coarsely

           -chopped
     12    Coriander leaves

  Tapioca is a plant product made from the roots of the cassava plant-
  ~also called manioc.  It's a major product in Thailand and I saw
  "tapioca trees" all over the place.  The plant itself isn't a tree,
  but they take the rootstocks and tie them into bundles which they set
  upright in the fields so they don't rot during the rainy season.
  Leaves sprout from the top of the bundle and the whole thing looks
  like a tree.  The root has a poisonous acid in it that has to be
  removed by cooking.  Those little balls are actually made++like
  risotto or "rice pasta".  It's usually used to make sweet puddings
  here, but in the Orient it's used to make thick, savory soups.  Like
  this one!
  Heat the stock to simmering in a large pan.  Pour 1/2 cup of the hot
  stock into a bowl and stir in the pork.  Return mixture to the pan.
  Add the garlic and fish sauce to taste, then add the tapioca and cook
  for 5 to 10 minutes.  When the tapioca is clear, add the crab meat
  and season to taste with pepper.  Remove from the heat.  Line
  individual soup bowls with the lettuce.  Pour in the soup and
  sprinkle with coriander leaves.
  From "Discover Thai Cooking" by Chaslin, Canungmai and Tettoni, Times
  Editions, Singapore.  1987.
  This is a simple, excellent soup and subject to all sorts of
  variations.
  Posted by Stephen Ceideberg; June 24 1991.