Vietnamese Pumpkin Soup is a popular dish commonly served in everyday Vietnamese meals. The ingredients and cooking process are quite simple, allowing you to have the soup ready in just 15-20 minutes. Let me share with you how to cook Vietnamese Pumpkin Soup in an easy and simple way.
Table of Contents
What’s Included in Vietnamese Pumpkin Soup
There are many types of pumpkins, but the best ones for making Vietnamese-style pumpkin soup are crookneck pumpkins and butternut squash. They have a soft, tender and smooth texture with less fiber, making the soup more delicious. Crookneck pumpkin has a round, large shape, with a skin color ranging from green-yellow to yellow, while butternut squash is usually smaller, longer, and has a yellow skin. Both of these types of squash are commonly grown in Vietnam.
Pumpkin can be combined with many types of ingredients, such as shrimp or dried shrimp, ground beef, ground pork, beef slices, crushed peanuts, pork cartilage, and more—all of which pair perfectly with pumpkin. In the recipe below, I used pork cartilage, but you can try making Vietnamese Pumpkin Soup with many other types of protein.
Pork cartilage (called “sườn non” in Vietnamese) is the meat surrounding the pork cartilage, cut from the larger end of the spare ribs, and is also known as rib tips. This is considered the tastiest part of the spare ribs, with a texture that is slightly chewy yet still soft. The cooking time for pork cartilage is also quite quick, faster than cooking the whole spare ribs.
Finally, ingredients that add fragrance to the pumpkin soup are pepper and coriander. Green onions and cilantro are sprinkled on the bowl of soup before serving, along with a bit of ground pepper.
Ingredients
Here are the ingredients for a bowl of Vietnamese Pumpkin Soup with Pork Cartilage, ideal for 4 people:
- 200g pork cartilage (about 7 oz)
- 500g crookneck pumpkin or butternut squash (about 1.1 lbs)
- 1 liters of water (about 4 cups)
- A handful of chopped green onions and cilantro
- A pinch of pepper
You can substitute pork cartilage with an equivalent amount of ground pork, shrimp, beef slices, or uncooked, crushed peanuts.
How to Cook Vietnamese Pumpkin Soup
Once you have gathered all the ingredients, let’s start cooking the Pumpkin Soup with Pork Cartilage!
Step 1. Preparation
- Peel the pumpkin and cut it into bite-sized pieces, each about 1 cm thick. Rinse the pork cartilage with a bit of salt to clean it thoroughly.
Step 2. Cooking
- Place the pork cartilage in a pot and add water. Turn the heat to high and bring it to a boil.
- When the water boils, add the pumpkin pieces and continue to cook over medium heat. Use a spoon to stir occasionally so that all the pumpkin pieces are submerged in the water.
- Skim off any foam that rises to the surface to keep the broth clear. After 15-20 minutes, check if the pumpkin is tender by cutting a piece in half. If the pumpkin is soft enough to be easily cut in half, it is done. Season with 1/2-1 tablespoon of salt to taste.
- Finally, garnish the soup with ground pepper, chopped green onions and cilantro. You should serve the soup immediately while it is still warm.
Enjoy the soup within a day. If you need to store it, keep it in the refrigerator and reheat it in the microwave or on the stove before eating.
Vietnamese Pumpkin Soup (Canh bí đỏ)
Ingredients
- 200 g pork cartilage about 7 oz
- 500 g crookneck pumpkin or butternut squash about 1.1 lbs
- 1 liters of water about 4 cups
- A handful of chopped green onions and cilantro
- A pinch of pepper
Instructions
Step 1. Preparation
- Peel the pumpkin and cut it into bite-sized pieces, each about 1 cm thick. Rinse the pork cartilage with a bit of salt to clean it thoroughly.
Step 2. Cooking
- Place the pork cartilage in a pot and add water. Turn the heat to high and bring it to a boil.
- When the water boils, add the pumpkin pieces and continue to cook over medium heat. Use a spoon to stir occasionally so that all the pumpkin pieces are submerged in the water.
- Skim off any foam that rises to the surface to keep the broth clear. After 15-20 minutes, check if the pumpkin is tender by cutting a piece in half. If the pumpkin is soft enough to be easily cut in half, it is done. Season with 1/2-1 tablespoon of salt to taste.
- Finally, garnish the soup with ground pepper, chopped green onions and cilantro. You should serve the soup immediately while it is still warm.
Nutrition
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Other Vietnamese Soup Recipe
- Vietnamese Stuffed Bitter Melon Soup (Canh khổ qua dồn thịt)
- Vietnamese papery shrimp and tomato soup (Canh cà chua nấu tép)
- Green papaya soup with sparerib (Canh đu đủ nấu sườn)
- Vietnamese Clam Soup (Canh nghêu thì là)
- Kohlrabi soup with shrimp
- Tofu and Tomato Egg Drop Soup
- Vietnamese Tomato Crab Soup (Canh riêu cua)