In Vietnamese culture, you have your everyday meals and your special meals. Everyday meals are easy, ‘throw it together’ dishes that are uncomplicated, comforting, and made for weekly rotation. This particular soup (soups are commonly known as a ‘canh’ in Vietnamese), is one of my absolute favorites for the ‘everyday’ category, and something that I’ve been cooking for the longest time. It’s so ridiculously easy (like most Vietnamese soup/canhs are), and though usually eaten with rice, can also be eaten alone. The only thing different from the way I make mine (as opposed to my parents) is that I purchase the pre-cut pork spare ribs at my local H-mart, so that I don’t have to deal with cleaving my own meat, which I find time consuming, and messy (yes, this is a shortcut!). If you don’t like to deal with bones, I recommend purchasing a pound of pork shoulder, and cutting the meat into cubes. Avoid pork loin, as it can be dry and less juicy in this soup form. I also typically brown the pork spare ribs in a separate pan before placing it in the pot. It gives the meat color and some added texture, but this step is not necessary, and can actually be skipped if you want to cut down on time. I will say that in the past, I gave everyone a general idea of how to make this soup (blame my parents for never measuring anything, ever), however, this time around, I made sure to write down specific measurements for each ingredient so that you have a consistent result each time you make it. The result: a savory soup, packed full of flavor, with mouthwatering, almost ‘fall off the bone’ pork spare ribs. I hope you enjoy this everyday meal as much as I do.

TOFU, TOMATOES, AND PORK SPARE RIB SOUP / CANH

Degree of difficulty: 1 (on a scale of 1-5)

Preparation time 15 min

Cooking time: 2 hours

YOU’LL NEED

•   A 5.5 quart pot

•  A non-stick frying pan

INGREDIENTS

• 6 tomatoes on the vine, quartered

• 1 x 16 oz package of organic firm tofu, sliced into roughly ½ thick x 1” wide x 1.5” long pieces

•  1.5 lbs pre-cut spork spare ribs, rinsed, and patted dry

•  13 cups of water

•  1 TBS chicken stock powder

• 2 tsp salt

•  2.5 TBS fish sauce

• ¼ cup thiny sliced scallions

• ¼ cup roughly chopped cilantro

• Freshly ground pepper

 DIRECTIONS

**Before you begin, place your pork rib bones in a strainer, and gently scrub all the bones with sea salt. Rinse off all of the salt thoroughly. This removes the ‘porky’ flavor, for a better flavor profile.

1.  Add a couple of tablespoons of cooking oil to a frying pan on med-high heat. Brown each side of the pork spare ribs (this step can be skipped if you are short on time).

2.  Add the pork spare ribs to a 5.5 qt stockpot, and add 13 cups of hot water. Bring to a boil.

3.   After the water has come to a full boil, reduce to medium-low, add 2 teaspoons of salt and 1 TBS of chicken stock powder. Allow the soft simmer to build the broth base for 2 hours. During the simmer time (after about an hour of simmering), gently skim the scud from the surface until the broth is clear of any impurities that have risen to the top, and continue to do so until the surface is free of impurities.

4.  Once you have finished simmering for two hours, add in your 2.5 TBS of fish sauce. Then add in your sliced tofu chunks and your quartered tomatoes. Bring the heat back up to a gentle boil, and then reduce again to medium-low (a gentle simmer), and cook for an additional 20 minutes.

5.  After the tofu and tomatoes have been stewing for 20 minutes, turn off the heat. Taste the broth and add additional salt or fish sauce, only if necessary.

6.  Top generously with sliced scallions, chopped cilantro, and freshly ground pepper. Serve with fluffy jasmine rice, or eat alone as a soup.

In the world of Vietnamese cuisine, chicken congee, also known as cháo gà, is arguably the most comforting dish one can eat. As of lately, we definitely need this level of culinary comfort in our lives (2021 is no joke). I approach my chicken congee the way I approach most of my Vietnamese dishes involving chicken broth. I level up by adding an extra layer of complexity to the broth by charring the veggies in my broth base. Yes it’s not the traditional way to make chicken congee, but when it comes to the kitchen, experimentation is key to becoming a good cook, and I’m all about breaking the rules. Ginger, garlic, and onion are charred on the surface to give an otherwise plain broth a little extra oomph. Normally we do this with phở, but wouldn’t it be special if we did it with congee? Note that you can skip this step if you are short on time, or have little patience. The thing about an amazing chicken congee is that it requires patience and time though. The best dishes do. There is nothing that compares to a homemade broth prepared with thoughtfulness, especially when they are simple dishes. If you have the palate, you appreciate the complexities a lot more. Now the only shortcut I take when making chicken congee is that I don’t boil a whole chicken to make the broth. I prefer dark meat as my topping (juicier, more flavor IMO), so I purchase chicken thighs (bone and skin on). It also makes the broth a lot easier to handle, but that’s not why I do it. Feel free to boil a whole chicken (offal removed), or use white meat only if you prefer. Just make sure you leave the bone and skin on so that the broth gets its bone-rich flavor as it develops. Finally, lets talk about toppings. Chicken congee is nothing, and I mean absolutely nothing without Vietnamese coriander (rau răm), slivered scallions, freshly ground pepper, a squeeze of lime, and you guessed it—fresh fried shallots. So make sure you don’t skip out on all 5 of these. I also like to add a small dash of Maggi seasoning right before eating (even though it really doesn’t need it). So ladies and gents, I present to you my Vietnamese Chicken Congee. Bon appétit!

VIETNAMESE CHICKEN CONGEE (CHÁO GÀ)

Degree of difficulty: 2 (on a scale of 1-5)

Preparation + cooking: 2 hours

  YOU’LL NEED

• Cheesecloth + string

• A grill wire rack or rack and pan (if using a handheld torch) for charring

• A large stockpot

 INGREDIENTS (serves 4-6 people)

• 4 lbs of chicken thighs, skin bone on (I used two packages of 4 thighs/package)

• 15 cups of water

• ¾  cup of sweet rice, washed and strained

• ¾  cup of short grain rice, washed and strained

note: you can also use brown rice if you are being health conscious--and if you are, I recommend pre-soaking it for a few hours before hand, as brown rice takes longer to cook.

•  One 4-5” piece of ginger, peeled

• 2 large yellow onions

• 1 head of garlic, with the bottom third of it sliced off crosswise

•  9 black peppercorns

• 1 TBS chicken stock powder

• 1 TBS fish sauce

• 1 TBS salt

• 3 TSP sugar

• Lime wedges

• Vietnamese Coriander (rau răm) 

• Fresh crispy fried shallots

• Scallions (the lower 2”), rinsed and sliced into slivers

 DIRECTIONS

1.  Char your onions, ginger, and the exposed part of your garlic using your gas stove or a handheld butane torch. If you are using your gas stovetop to char, I recommend using a round grill wire rack (see photo above). I use this rack all the time for charring. If you are using a handheld torch, I recommend torching over a baking rack on top of a sheet pan. You want to char until onions, ginger, and garlic are at least 60% charred, flipping over and rearranging with tongs carefully when some sides have blackened. When you are done, set them aside in a bowl to cool, and then using cheesecloth and string, tie them (make sure to include your peppercorns) into a pouch. This keeps the charred skin from floating around in the broth, and keeps the broth clean and clear, and will save you time from fishing around for ingredients later.

2.  Begin blanching your chicken in boiling water and a 1 TBS of salt. Remove the chicken from the pot, discard the water, and set aside. 

3.  Using a large stockpot, add 15 cups of hot water, your pouch of onions, ginger, and garlic, and peppercorn, and your chicken thighs, and bring the heat to a full boil. Then reduce the heat to a medium-low, cover, and cook for 1 hour. While the broth is cooking, skim off any crud that rises to the surface, making sure to keep at least 50% of the chicken fat (that rises to the top) in the broth (this gives it more depth and flavor).

4.  Remove your chicken thighs and allow them to cool for about 20 minutes. Once they are cool, you can shred the chicken with your hands, removing the bones and skin, and non-meaty excess parts. Store the chicken until you’re ready to eat.

5.  With your heat still on medium-low, stir in your short grain and sweet rice. Cook for about 20 minutes, stirring every once in a while to prevent the rice from sticking to the bottom of the pot and burning. After 20 minutes, remove from heat, allowing the residual heat to continue cooking the rice into a nice porridge like texture.

6.  Add in 1.5 TBS chicken stock powder, 1 TBS salt, 1 TBS of fish sauce, and 3 TSP sugar. Give it a nice stir to blend all of the seasonings well.

7.  Ladle the congee in a bowl, top with the shredded chicken, Vietnamese coriander leaves, slivered scallions, a couple grinds of pepper, and last but not least, fried shallots. Squeeze with a small wedge of lime for an extra punch of flavor. Add a dash of Maggi seasoning if desired.

Many times I have uttered the words, ‘this is my mom’s specialty’ for many Vietnamese dishes, but I am pretty sure that this is her number one. I have to admit that I wasn’t the biggest fan of this dish growing up (I prefer poultry, pork, or beef based Vietnamese dishes mostly), but after being away from my family/hometown, and coming back home every once in awhile, I totally get this dish, and I absolutely love it. Last week I called my mom for the recipe, and was surprised at how easy it is to make, which makes it the perfect recipe to share. For the broth base, my mom uses chicken broth, and as always, I prefer to make homemade chicken stock (I will post a simple recipe for this in the near future). I just like the flavor of my own homemade stock, but also the clarity, as I find store bought chicken broth to be on the cloudy side. I tend to make the broth the day before, and will store it in the fridge cut cut down preparation time on the day of. At home, my parents usually make this soup after eating steamed blue crabs. They save the uneaten crab meat, crab juices, and crab eggs, and they use it to make a super flavorful crab base for the soup (totally an option for you to try, and highly recommended). Unfortunately, I don’t really have access to really good blue crabs up here, so I used jars of jumbo lump crab meat in the refrigerated seafood section at my local grocery store, which make a great substitute (you can also get fresh lump crab from your local fish market). Annatto oil gives the soup a nice coloring, and directions are provided below on how to make it (it’s so easy!). I also prefer to make the annatto oil the day before (if I don’t already have it on hand), and store it in a jar. The key to this soup being so comforting (especially for a cold and/or rainy day) is its thickness from the cornstarch, but also from the chewy tapioca noodles. Make sure to place the noodles in the soup 10-15 minutes before serving (the noodles will continue to expand and soften after, so time it perfectly if you want the right texture). Freshly ground pepper, chopped scallions, chopped cilantro, and crispy fried onions bring the soup flavor up a notch, and a squeeze of lime takes you to culinary nirvana.

VIETNAMESE CRAB/SEAFOOD SOUP W/TAPIOCA NOODLES (BÁNH CANH CUA)

Degree of difficulty: 2.5 (on a scale of 1-5)

Cooking time: Approximately 50 minutes 

YOU’LL NEED

•  A medium frying pan

• A large stockpot

INGREDIENTS (for approx. 12 cups of chicken broth) Serves 4-6 people

•  1 X 8oz jar/container of fresh jumbo lump crab (or if preferred, freshly peeled crab)

• 12 cups of chicken stock (I recommend making your own chicken stock for the best flavor profile)

•  2 TBS cooking oil

• 5 finely chopped garlic cloves

• 3 TBS finely chopped shallots

• 5 TBS cornstarch powder, whisked well in 1 cup of cold water 

• 3 TSP salt

• 1 TSP ground white pepper

• 4 TBS fish sauce

• 2 TSP sugar

• 6 TSP annatto oil

• bánh canh noodles/thick tapioca noodles (2 X 15oz packages)

• chopped cilantro (garnish)

• chopped scallion (garnish)

• crispy fried shallots (garnish)

• sautéed shrimp and crab as a garnish (optional)

•  lime wedges

 DIRECTIONS FOR ANNATTO OIL

1. Heat up ½ a cup of neutral cooking oil on medium-high

2. Stir in 2 TBS of annatto seeds

3. Continually stir until the oil begins to color. The oil is done once the first annatto seed starts to pop. Once you hear that first pop, remove from heat, strain, and allow the oil to cool. Store in a jar (annatto oil can be used for various Vietnamese dishes/soups)

DIRECTIONS FOR CRAB/SEAFOOD SOUP/BÁNH CANH

1. Using 2 TBS of cooking oil, sauté garlic and shallots in a frying pan on medium heat until fragrant. Once the shallots and garlic have slightly softened, increase to medium high, and add in your crab (among other seafood you would like to include, like shrimp, scallop, lobster, etc), and sauté with the garlic and shallots. If you are adding in more seafood, you may want to increase the oil and amount of garlic/shallots. Sautee for 3-5 min, and remove from the pan and set aside.

2. Bring a large stockpot of chicken stock to a boil and then reduce the heat to medium. Add your seasoning (fish sauce, salt, sugar, ground white pepper, and annatto oil). Taste and add more salt/fish sauce/seasoning only if needed.

3. Very slowly add the cup of cornstarch water to thicken the broth, then use a ladle to continuously stir the cornstarch into the stock.

4. Add in your sautéed crab/seafood and garlic/shallot mix and stir well. Cook the soup for 20 min on medium heat, allowing the garlic, shallots, and crab to fully flavor the broth.

5. After 20 minutes have passed, taste the soup and additional seasonings (salt, fish sauce) if needed. 10-15 min before serving, add in your banh canh noodles (you don’t want it to over soften, so add the noodles in just before you’re about ready to eat)

   Optional: Top with a medley of stir fried seafood (shrimp, crab/crab legs) for presentation

6. Garnish with chopped cilantro, scallion, and crispy fried shallots. Serve with a squeeze of fresh lime and freshly ground pepper.