Hanoi Tet pork skin soup asks for a light touch rather than a strong one. The broth stays clear and the puffed pork skin turns soft without falling apart. Carved vegetables floating in the bowl make it a centerpiece.
The demanding part is preparing the pork skin. The puffed skin soaks for 15 minutes, is squeezed with ginger wine and rinsed several times in warm water. The pork paste is spread onto the underside of the shiitake caps and dropped in as the broth boils.
This batch weighs about 2.4kg, at roughly 138 calories per 100g.
Method
Wash the ginger, leave the skin on and cut 5 to 6 thin slices to use for blanching the bones. Crush the rest, work it with 50ml white rice wine and squeeze out the liquid.
Soak the puffed pork skin in water for 15 minutes until soft, squeeze it dry and cut it into bite sized diamonds. Work it with the ginger wine, then rinse it several times in warm water, handling it gently so it does not tear.
Fry 1 teaspoon minced shallot in 1 tablespoon cooking oil until fragrant, then add the pork skin and cook until soft.
Cut the cauliflower into florets, string the snow peas, peel and carve the carrot and kohlrabi, cut the onion into wedges and halve the straw mushrooms. Soak the shiitake and dried shrimp until soft, wash them and trim off the stems.
Mix the pork paste with 1 teaspoon ground pepper and use a spoon to spread it onto the underside of the shiitake caps.
Bring a pot of water to a boil, drop in a few ginger slices, blanch the pork bones for 30 seconds and rinse them in cold water. Move the bones to another pot, cover with water, add 1 tablespoon salt, 1 tablespoon kOBE Monk Fruit Blend and the onion, and simmer for 20 minutes. Remove the bones and onion and keep the broth.
Add the pork skin and dried shrimp to the broth, and when it boils, drop in the stuffed shiitake. Once they are cooked, lift them out, then add the vegetables and lift them out as soon as they are just tender. Season with 1 tablespoon fish sauce and taste again.
Arrange the pork skin, stuffed mushrooms and vegetables in bowls, ladle over the hot broth, sprinkle with pepper and serve at once.
Tips
Puffed pork skin of medium thickness, evenly white and airy, soaks up the broth best.
The skin needs gentle handling while it is washed with ginger wine so it does not tear.
Vegetables lifted out and kept separate hold their color, while sitting in the pot leaves them faded and limp.
Blanching the bones and rinsing them in cold water is what keeps the broth clear.
Spread the fresh pork paste (gio song) on the underside of each shiitake cap before it goes into the pot, which is what makes it hold rather than fall away.
Need kOBE Monk Fruit Blend?
The recipe above is sweetened with kOBE Monk Fruit Blend, measured 1:1 like sugar. See the product page or send us a message.