Canh rau ngót is a simple Vietnamese soup of katuk leaves cooked with shrimp and minced pork. Katuk, also called star gooseberry or sweet leaf, is a shrub grown as a leaf vegetable in tropical regions, and it’s one of the most popular leafy greens in South and Southeast Asia. The shoot tips have even been sold as “tropical asparagus”. In Vietnam, people cook the leaves into soup with crab meat, minced pork or dried shrimp. This version uses shrimp and pork. The leaves are a good source of vitamins K and A, especially when freshly picked, and are high in vitamins B and C, protein and minerals. The more mature the leaves, the higher their nutrient content. Ingredients 100 g shrimp 150 g minced pork A bunch of katuk (rau ngót) Spring onion Olive oil, for frying 2 bowls of water Salt, pepper and sugar How to make canh rau ngót 1. Prepare the shrimp and pork Clean the shrimp, peel them and pull out the dark vein along each back. Mix the shrimp with the minced pork and season the mixture with a little salt and pepper. 2. Prepare the katuk Strip the leaves off the stems and use only the leaves, leaving out any hard ones. Put them in a basket and wash them, then rub the leaves between your hands. 3. Fry the shrimp and pork Heat the olive oil in a pot and fry the spring onion. Add the shrimp and pork mixture and fry until it is partly cooked. 4. Add the water and the leaves Pour 2 bowls of water into the pot and cook until it comes back to the boil. Add the katuk leaves and season the soup again to your taste. Leave the lid off while the soup cooks: like most Vietnamese soups of this kind, it isn’t covered while it boils. Turn off the heat and ladle the soup into a big serving bowl. Eat it with rice, as you would most Vietnamese soups. A tip from the original author The original author recommends this soup when hot weather brings on mouth ulcers: eat it for about a week. Share:
