Canh Soung (Vietnamese Spare Rib Soup)

Soups in one of those things I just can't live without. I could probably have some kind of soup or stew everyday, for every meal, for the rest of my life and be happy. It's probably because most Vietnamese dishes are based on some kind of soup or stew. In fact, soup is served as a part of every meal. Yes, even sometimes for breakfast. Oink oink!

From as far back as I can remember, my parents were always working. So, my older sisters were in charge of feeding us lil' ones after school. We would come home from school, they would make some kind of soup and we would eat it with rice. My parents would come home around 6 or 7 and prepare the rest of dinner, which usually consisted of the soup, an egg omelet (Viet style), and some kind of fish or meat dish. Veggies would usually be covered in the soup.

The typical soup served with dinner is very different than pho or a noodle soup broth. It is always simple and can be made in under 30 minutes, which is timed to the completion of other dishes.

Today, in our family of two, I find that one soup dish is usually sufficient for dinner, especially if I serve it with some kind of starch.

This recipe will serve two as a main dish, or 4 - 6 if served with other dishes.

Ingredients

1/2 lbs of spare ribs, cut into 1 inch pieces (it is easier to have the butcher to cut it for you, so you don't have to do it at home yourself)

1 large carrot, sliced 1/4 inch thick

1 shallot, diced small (I always prefer shallots to onions, as they produce a sweeter taste, but you can interchange them in my recipes. Plus, I'm Vietnamese and we love our shallots)

1 small red potato, diced small

1 large tomato, sliced into 1/2 wedges

2 pieces of small, clear vermicelli noodles

1 tablespoon of salt

2+ tablespoon of fish sauce (preferably Three Crab brand)

1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

cilantro, minced and green onion, sliced to garnish

1. Cut the spare ribs into 1 inch pieces, if not already done by your butcher. I like to cut them from the back side. This makes it easier for me to differentiate one piece from the other.
2. Boil a medium size pot (3.5 qt) of water. Par boil the ribs by bringing the water to a rapid boil, putting the ribs into the pot and letting it boil at a rapid bubble speed until all the gunk comes up to the surface, about 5 - 10 minutes. The ribs shouldn't be fully cooked, but the blood and gunk should coagulate to the top of the water.
3. Dump out the water and wash the ribs with cold water. This will clean your ribs and produce a clear broth while reducing the need to skim the soup later.
4. Put the ribs, shallots, and carrots in a fresh pot of water, bring to a boil, then simmer.
5. Add the salt, fish sauce and pepper.
6. After 15 minutes (or 30 minutes is you have the time), add the tomatoes, and potatoes.
7. After another 15 minutes, taste the broth and adjust seasoning by adding more fish sauce/pepper.
8. Add the vermicelli and let simmer for 2 minutes. These are very thin noodles, so they'll cook quickly and will continue to cook after you turn off the heat.
9. Turn off the heat and garnish with cilantro and green onions. Vietnamese people garnish almost every dish with cilantro and green onions, so these are the herbs I always keep in the fridge. You can substitute with parsley as well.
10. Optional: Serve with plain, steamed rice. We ate this with just the noodles, but plain Vietnamese soups, like this one, are usually served over rice.