All posts filed under: Soup

Vietnamese Beef Stew / Bò Kho

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Vietnamese beef stew is a fusion dish that was influenced by French colonialism. The stew reminds me of a rustic dish that I would get in the French countryside, but with Asian flavors. This recipe is not hard to make; however, it does take time like all good stews. Traditionally, a variety of cheap meat cuts are added to this dish such as tendons. To keep this recipe simple, we only used rough beef flank. Additionally, we demonstrated two ways to cook it using a pressure cooker or a Dutch oven. The pressure cooker cuts the total cooking time in half, but it does require that you know how to use a pressure cooker or have one available. The longer and more traditional way is to use a Dutch oven and simmer the stew over low heat for an extended period of time. This is a perfect dish for any weekend this winter. Vietnamese beef stew has more of a watery consistency than the traditional western stew, which is much thicker. This is so folks …

Quick and Easy Egg and Tomato Noodle Soup

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When I have only a few basic ingredients on hand and need a meal asap, I turn to this fairly simple yet delicious egg and tomato noodle soup to feed a family of four. Try it for your next weeknight meal. You won’t be disappointed. Difficulty: Easy Time: 30 minutes Servings: 4 large bowls *This recipe can be modified for one or two servings by cutting the measurements according to the serving size. Ingredients: 6 cups of low sodium chicken stock 1 cup of water 3 large ripe tomatoes 3 medium size egg 1 tablespoon of minced garlic 1/2 of an onion diced 1 tablespoon of oil 1 teaspoon of salt 2 teaspoons of sugar 1 teaspoon of soy sauce 1/2 teaspoon of sesame oil 1/4 teaspoon of ground black pepper 1 and 1/2 teaspoons of chicken bouillon powder. (You can skip this if you do not have it.) Tapioca starch water (2 tablespoons of tapioca starch mixed with 1 and 1/2 tablespoons of water). You can substitute tapioca starch with corn starch. A package of egg noodles …

Taro and Ribs Soup / Canh Khoai Sườn

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Winter in the northeast is especially harsh so my body craves comfort food. One healthy and simple dish is taro and ribs soup or canh khoai sườn. Marinated pork ribs and taro are boiled in water and chicken stock until they are tender and juicy. The result is a deep yet healthy soup that is simply eaten with a side of rice. Difficulty: Easy / Serving: 4 / Time: 45 minutes Ingredients 1.5 lb. of pork ribs cut in 2 inch segment length wise 1.5 lb. of taro cut into 1 inch cube 1/4 teaspoon of ground black pepper 1 tablespoon + 1/2 teaspoon of sea salt 1 teaspoon of chicken bouillon powder 1/2 teaspoon of minced garlic 1 tablespoon of diced onion 1/2 teaspoon of fish sauce 3 rock sugar 2 cups of low sodium chicken broth Cilantro (garnish) Green onion (garnish) Directions Start by cleaning the ribs. Boil a small pot of water with 1 tablespoon of salt. Once the water comes to a boil, blanch the ribs so that the outside are cooked. …

Essential Stock: Pork Bones

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Pork bone stock is one of the most versatile building block of Vietnamese soups. This stock takes less than 1.5 hours to make and freezes well. It is advisable to make big batches of this stock to put in the freezer. When you are ready to make soups such as Phnom Penh Noodle Soup or Hủ Tiếu Nam Vang, defrost the stock and this will cut your cooking time in half. Difficulty: Easy / Servings: Approximately 7-8 quarts depending on the evaporation / Time: 1 hour and 10 minutes Ingredients: 8.5 quarts of water 3 lb. of pork neck bones 1 teaspoon of salt 2 teaspoons of rock sugar   Directions A. Prepare the bones (5-10 minutes) Fill a large pot with enough water to cover the pork bones. Once the water comes to a rolling boil, add the pork bones and cook for 5 minutes so that the impurities and blood can be drawn out of the bones. Remove the bones and rinse clean. Discard the water. B. Prepare the stock (1 hour) Fill a large …

Bánh Canh Cua Giò Heo / Crab and Pork Hock Tapioca Noodle Soup

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Bánh canh cua giò heo  or crab and pork hock tapioca noodle soup is a typical dish in central Vietnam. Bánh canh noodles are similar to udon noodles except they are typically made with a combination of tapioca flour and rice flour. The noodles are translucent and have a chewy consistency. The stock is based on a simple pork bone stock and this recipe takes approximately 1.5 hours to prepare. If you have frozen pork stock, then this recipe takes only half an hour to create. For those that do not like pork hock, we also offer substitution for those items. You can easily make this a simple crab noodle soup as well. Either way, it is another delicious noodle soup that is not typically offered in Vietnamese restaurants in the United States. Difficulty: Medium / Serving: 6 portions / Time: 1.5 hours Ingredients: 2.5 lb pork neck bone 2.5 lb of pork hock slice 1 inch lengthwise (substitute with other cuts of pork or pork neck bones) 1 pack of cha or pork meatloaf (substitute …

Vietnamese Stuffed Cabbage Roll and Meatball Soup / Canh Bap Cai Nhoi Thit

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I asked my mom over the holiday season to make a healthy soup and we came up with this stuffed cabbage roll and meatball soup or canh bap cai nhoi thit. This is a simple and healthy soup to detox from the rich holiday meals. It is also an elegant soup to serve at any dinner party. Difficulty: Medium / Servings: 6 / Time: 30 – 45 minutes Ingredients: 6-7 leaves from 1 extra-large cabbage or the largest cabbage you find. (You can adjust the meat filling to fit the smaller leaves.) 1/2 lb. of ground pork (You can substitute this with chicken.) 4 jumbo shrimps (deveined and without the shell) 1/2 lb. of pork paste (You can also puree the ground meat into a paste in a food processor.) 1/2 cup of rehydrated wood ear mushrooms 6-8 green onions 2 teaspoons fish sauce 2 teaspoons of chicken bouillon powder 1/4 teaspoon of ground pepper 1/4 teaspoon of sea salt 1 cup of low sodium chicken broth 3 rock sugar 1/2 teaspoon of regular sugar 1/2 teaspoon …

Phnom Penh Noodle Soup/ Hủ Tiếu Nam Vang

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Hủ Tiếu Nam Vang or Phnom Penh Noodle Soup is a southern Vietnamese noodle soup that is based on a Cambodian-Chinese dish and is a favorite for the locals in southern Vietnam. Go to any alleyway with food stalls and you will find one that serves Hủ Tiếu Nam Vang. Hủ Tiếu has a mild flavor compared to pho and bun bo hue and is much quicker to cook as well. The soup base is made of up pork bones and dried cuttlefish and shrimps. The noodles are also different as they are a clear chewy tapioca noodles versus the softer rice noodles found in other soups. The toppings vary by region and vendors and can be as simple as slices of pork, shrimp and a quail egg to dumplings, squid, and the list goes on. This is another dish that is good to make ahead as you can freeze the broth and toppings into portions and reheat it for a meal anytime. For this recipe, we created a fully loaded surf and turf version …

Bún Bò Huế / Huế Beef Noodle Soup

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Bún Bò Huế is a popular beef noodle soup originating from the ancient imperial capital of Vietnam. The soup has a great combination of salty, sweet, sour and spicy with a strong citrus fragrance. This soup is served with a plate of condiments including various herbs, vegetables and rice vermicelli noodles. To get the right balance of flavors require boiling pork bones and beef shank with lemongrass and fermented fish sauce for hours. Spicy chili oil is added to the broth during the process to add a kick.  Bún bò in Huế is not the fiery spicy broth that most people associate with in the US. It is a generally mild and complex broth. The spiciness is added according to people’s taste afterward. This is my mom’s recipe that she learned from a famous Bún Bò Huế vendor in Huế. Difficulty: Medium / Servings: 8 bowls / Time: 3-4 hours to prepare Ingredients: 1/4 cup of ruoc  (shrimp sauce) 6 quarts water 1 lb boneless eye round roast beef 4 lb. pork small knuckle 3 lb pork leg chop …

Phở Bò / Beef Noodle Soup

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Phở is a hearty noodle soup that is the most well known of all noodle soups from Vietnam. The stock can be made with chicken or beef with the most popular type being beef noodle soup. Every region has its own take on phở bò and the noodle soup is often eaten for breakfast. Phở bò takes at least a few hours of just simmering the bones to get the  right bone stock for the soup base. This is a dish that is made for long weekends and especially when the weather turns cold. We redid the traditional phở recipe into 2 parts (beef stock and  phở broth) to make it easier to measure the ingredients and to get a consistently good broth. This is one of the easiest recipe for phở that we wrote to create a very clear, rich and fragrant broth. You can make the bone stock in advance and freeze it. Whenever you want to make phở, just defrost the bone stock and season the stock to make the phở broth. Difficulty: Medium / Time: 3 hours for bone …

Duck and Bamboo Vermicelli Noodle Soup / Bún Măng Vịt

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Duck and bamboo vermicelli noodle soup or  bún măng vịt is a permanent fixture at my parent’s weekend dinners. This simple and rich vermicelli soup is a dish that one will not find at a restaurant. This is comfort food at its core. A whole duck is boiled for 45 minutes to create a fragrant and rich broth. The duck is then cut into bit size pieces and ready to be dipped in a garlic ginger fish sauce. The bowl of noodle soup is topped with bamboo shoots simply sauteed with some seasoning and a salad of lettuce, cabbage and mints. This is a meal that is best served with family and friends as you’ll guarantee to fight over the meatiest parts of the duck. This dish takes 1 – 1.5 hours to prepare. The recipe serves approximately 8 portions and is rated medium in difficulty. Ingredients: 1 whole duck 1 package of dried bamboo shoots (If you don’t have this, you can use the can version.) 8 tablespoons of fish sauce (for broth and …