Canh Khoai Mỡ (Vietnamese Purple Yam Soup)
Servings: 4 people
Calories:
Ingredients
- 24 oz purple yam
- cooking oil
- 1 tablespoon finely minced shallots
- 5 oz ground pork
- 1½ teaspoons salt
- 5 cups water (or stock such as pork broth, shrimp stock)
- 1 teaspoon fish sauce
- 2 oz peeled and deveined shrimp, chopped into small pieces
- fresh herbs for garnish: chopped cilantro, scallion and saw-tooth leaves
Instructions
- Peel the yam. Grate about half to create starch for a smooth broth, and roughly chop the rest into medium sized chunks for texture.
- In a pot, heat some cooking oil over medium heat and sauté the minced shallots until fragrant (about 2–3 minutes).
- Add the ground pork and sauté briefly then add the salt. Continue to stir and cook until no longer pink on the outside.
- Add the water to the pot and bring it to a boil. Then add all of the yam. Let the liquid come back to a simmer and skim off all the foam.
- Continue to simmer over medium heat until the yam is tender to your liking and the soup turns purple, about 15 minutes. Give the soup a stir every now and then to prevent sticking. Add fish sauce and adjust seasonings to taste.
- Stir in the chopped shrimp. Once the shrimp is cooked through (which is very quick), turn off the heat and transfer the soup to serving bowls.
- Sprinkle fresh herbs and serve hot.
Notes
We like to divide the yam and prepare it in two different ways so that the soup turns out creamy yet still has some chunky bites, rather than becoming a puree. This balance of smoothness and texture is our preferred way to enjoy canh khoai mỡ, but you can always adjust the ratio of grated to chopped yam to suit your taste.
The quality of yam may not be consistent, so don’t be surprised if the color of your soup turns out lighter or darker from one batch to the next. Also, the starch content can differ so you may need to adjust the amount of liquid to achieve your desired consistency.
Optional Adjustments
- Some home cooks in Vietnam like to add a touch of sugar to round out the flavors and enhance the sweetness of the yam.
- In some restaurants, you may find the soup topped with crispy fried garlic bits, which bring extra aroma and a subtle crunch.