Soups like Canh Suon Heo are at the heart of Vietnamese home cooking, what we call com gia dinh. They are warm, humble, and full of life. Growing up, my mom made countless variations of this soup. The base was always the same: pork bones, aromatics, and gentle seasoning simmered together into something nourishing. What changed was whatever vegetables she could find. When times were tough, my mom would make this soup with whatever we got from the food bank. Sometimes it was potatoes or beets, other times it was cabbage or daikon. She always found a way to make it work, stretching what we had to feed our family of seven. To me, this soup represents her resourcefulness and love, reflecting the struggles we went through and her resilience in keeping us fed and together. Today I’m remaking it with carrots and cauliflower, which is a tribute to that foundation recipe and to the spirit of Vietnamese family cooking.
The soul of any canh suon heo starts with the bones. They create the body, depth, and flavor that define the broth. You can use any kind of pork bones you can find. For this recipe, I chose pork ribs because they were on sale for $3/lbs at my local grocery store. They add just the right amount of meat and look beautiful when served in the bowl. But you can opt for even cheaper cuts like pork spare ribs, neck bones, or even pork hock. The key is to have some hearty bones that can release flavor into the broth as they simmer.
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Timestamps:
00:00 Intro
00:47 Processing the pork ribs
02:24 Making the pork broth
03:20 Prepping the herbs and veggies
05:02 Finishing the soup
06:47 Plating and mukbang outro
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This is a Vietnamese soup that
you won’t find at any restaurant. And soups like this one are a central part
of Vietnamese family meals, or cơm gia đình. This Canh Sườn Heo, or pork rib soup,
is so comforting and super customizable. We’re making it with carrots
and cauliflower today, but my mom typically made it with whatever
veggies we got at the food bank that week. This soup is a great way to stretch the dollar
and make use of whatever you have on hand. Every bite of this soup takes
me right back to my childhood, and I’m excited to share a
little piece of me with you. So do me a favor — make sure you like,
comment, share, and save this video. Alright y’all, remember to wash your hands. Now, the first thing we’ll
do is prep our pork ribs. These were on sale for about $3 a pound, but you can use pork spare ribs, pork
neck bones, or whatever you like. All we have to do is parboil them
for about 5 minutes to remove any impurities — this ensures that
our broth stays nice and clean. We’ll drain the pork ribs, then rinse with
cold water and scrub away any lingering debris. Also, use this time to clean your pot,
then get 4 quarts of water back into it. Now, while the water is coming up to a
boil, we’ll quickly char our aromatics. First, we’ll cut a yellow onion
and a 2-inch nub of ginger in half. Then, to a dry pan on medium-high heat,
we’ll char the aromatics for 3–5 minutes. Alternatively, if you have an open flame,
charring them over that is even better. Now to the pot — I’m going to add in our cleaned
and parboiled pork ribs and our charred aromatics. We’re going to bring this up to a rolling boil, skim off any impurities that rise to
the top, then reduce the heat to low, cover it with a slight crack, and let it gently
simmer for about an hour to an hour and a half. And while that’s going, let’s
prep the rest of the ingredients. Starting with 3 large carrots — we’ll just
peel and cut them into 1 to 1.5-inch pieces. Then I have a head of cauliflower, and we’ll cut it into florets
roughly the same size as the carrots. And you already know — whenever we have
cauliflower, we have to pay the cauliflower tax. We’ll pay the carrot tax too,
since my boys love crunchy veggies. Then I have some green onions, and we’ll just
finely chop them up to use as a garnish later. And if you like this recipe and
want to learn how to make more of your favorite Vietnamese and Asian
dishes, make sure you subscribe and turn on your notifications to stay
up to date on all my latest posts. Now, back to the soup.
After an hour and a half, I’m going to remove the onion and ginger. This is enough time for them to
impart their flavor, but it also ensures that the onion doesn’t have the
chance to disintegrate into the soup. One of the biggest hallmarks of
Vietnamese soups is how light and clean they are — so taking this
step is crucial in achieving that. Then, to the pot, we’re going
to add in our carrots and let it continue to simmer until they’re tender. Now depending on what types of
veggies you use in your soup, it’s important to add them in layers, as
they all have different cooking times. With carrots or beets — since they’re a bit heartier — they’ll take
around 10–15 minutes to soften. If you use potatoes, I’d add them
in after so they don’t fall apart. And for other veggies like broccoli, zucchini, or cabbage, I’d add them in at
the end so they don’t turn mushy. Once your carrots are tender,
we’ll season the broth with a nub of rock sugar, 1 tablespoon of MSG, and
3 tablespoons of my dear mom’s fish sauce. Now, with any of my recipes, it’s important
to use this as a foundation and then adjust the seasonings to taste — to better
fit your own palate and preferences. Right at the very end, go ahead and add your cauliflower and let that simmer
for just a couple of minutes. Before we get into plating — this
soup stores in the fridge really well. But my personal recommendation is to store the
veggies separately from the soup, as this helps them hold their shape better and prevents them
from disintegrating — especially the cauliflower. And with that done, it’s time to plate. You can serve the soup directly over a
bowl of rice, or with the rice on the side. We’ll ladle some of the soup into a bowl,
making sure to get a little bit of everything. We’ll garnish the bowl simply with some
green onions and freshly ground black pepper. And just like that, you’ve made an incredible
and authentic Canh Sườn Heo — at home. As always, the recipe and measurements
are on my blog at feedthepudge.com. And if you’ve made it this far,
let me know in the comments — What’s a soup or dish that brings
you back to your childhood? Thanks for watching, and I hope you enjoy.
2 Comments
my guy!! this is where its at! the best soup
Oh yum, I’m going to make this tomorrow. Thank you ☺️