Vietnamese Luffa Gourd Soup with Ground Pork (Canh Mướp Thịt Băm)
Luffa, also known as loofa or loofah, is a type of gourd. Luffa gourds grow on vines with dark green foliage and yellow blossoms. When harvested at a young stage, the luffa is edible and used in many soups and stir-fried dishes.
Interestingly enough, luffa is also the same gourd that you use to clean your body or dishes with. The loofahs in your bathrooms and kitchens are the dried out fibrous remains of a matured luffa gourd. When left matured on the vines, luffa becomes very fibrous and no longer edible. The skin is peeled away and seeds are shaken out. The fibrous skeleton that remains get converted to a bath or kitchen sponge.
There are two species of the luffa gourd and I’ve seen both at a typical Asian market. The first variety is Luffa acutangular. This specie might be labeled as angled luffa, rigid luffa or simply Chinese okra at the market. They are long and thin gourds with deep ridges running the length of the vegetable.
The second variety is Luffa aegyptiaca which is more plump in profile with a smoother skin. There are no ridges here. It resembles and is often mistaken for a winter melon (Bi Dao).
Yet unlike the winter melon, the flesh of both luffa species is very spongey and both species are used interchangeably in many dishes.
One quick luffa recipe is a traditional Vietnamese soup, Canh Muop Thit Bam.
Canh Muop Thit Bam is a quick traditional Vietnamese soup made with ground pork and luffa gourd. It’s a soup I witnessed my parents made over and over again after a long day at work. It cooks up quickly. It satisfies the hunger and it goes wonderfully with steamed rice.
Related Post: The Guide to Cooking Perfectly Steamed Rice: Asian Kid Edition
I like to make this soup side dish with caramelized pork spare ribs (Suon Kia / Suon Ram Man) for a complete Vietnamese family meal. Recipe below. Enjoy!
Other Soups You May Enjoy
Kabocha Squash Soup with Chicken
Pork Spare Rib Soup with Opo Squash
Cabbage and Shrimp Soup
Kabocha Pumpkin Soup with Minced Shrimp
Popular Pork Dishes to Complete the Meal
Quick & Easy Vietnamese Caramelized Ground Pork Rice Bowls
Vietnamese Caramelized Pork Spare Ribs
Lazy Pan-Fried Lemongrass Pork Ribs with Sweet & Savory Glaze
Easy Chinese-Style Soy Sauce Braised Pork Ribs
Vietnamese/Chinese Barbecue Pork
Vietnamese Luffa Gourd Soup with Ground Pork (Canh Muop Thit Bam)
Serves 4-6
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 shallot (peel and mince)
- 2 garlic cloves (peel and mince)
- 8 oz ground pork
- 1-1/2 quarts water or stock
- 2 teaspoons fish sauce
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 1 teaspoon chicken / vegetable bouillon stock powder
- 2 teaspoons granulated sugar
- 1 large luffa (about 2 lbs; peel and slice into small chunks)
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 2 green onions (slice thin)
Instructions
- In a medium size pot, heat oil on medium high. Add shallot and garlic and saute until fragrant (about 15 seconds). Add ground pork and saute to combine with aromatics.
- Add water/stock and bring pot to a boil then reduce heat to low simmer. Cook for 5-7 minutes. Occasionally skim off the foam at the top as needed.
- Season stock with fish sauce, sea salt, stock powder and sugar.
- Add sliced luffa gourd. Cook for 5-7 miunutes or until gourds are tender.
- Garnish with black pepper and green onions.
One of the traditional dishes served during Vietnamese New Year (Tết) and also a staple in everyday home cooking. Ground pork stuffed bitter melon is simmered in a savory broth and served with fluffy steamed rice and other side dishes for a complete family-style meal.
If you want to experience the authentic flavors of Vietnam's traditional home cooking, try this sweet and sour tamarind fish soup. This vibrant and flavorful soup is made with your choice of fish, tamarind, fresh vegetables and aromatic herbs. Enjoy with steamed white rice for a complete meal.
This authentic and flavorful Vietnamese soup brings together tender pork ribs and the delicate, naturally sweet taste of chayote squash. A classic light and clear broth to eat with steamed rice in a traditional Vietnamese family-style meal.
A delicious and light chicken and spinach soup that comes together in 20 minutes. Prepared with bite-sized pieces of bone-in chicken and baby spinach, this soup can be paired with steamed white rice for a satisfying and authentic family-style Vietnamese meal.
A type of egg-drop soup that is often served as an appetizer at weddings or anniversaries. The simplicity of the ingredients and their muted white color are the things that make the soup so elegant for these special occasions. But you don't need to be at a fancy restaurant to enjoy this soup. You can make it at home. Plus, it’s a hearty and comforting dish for a cold winter day.
Simple, delicious, and comforting Vietnamese soup made with easy-to-find and cheap ingredients. It’s the perfect soup for cold winter days, for those who feel under the weather or simply, for those who want a taste of home.
Looking for a soup dish to go with a traditional Vietnamese family meal? Check out this Vietnamese warm and comforting chicken soup with crunchy bamboo shoots. A simple and easy recipe to have alongside steamed rice.
Here is a quick and easy Vietnamese sweet and sour soup (canh chua). This soup features salmon filets, Indian taro stems, enoki mushroom, and tomatoes, all cooked in a flavorful sweet and sour tamarind broth. Topped with crispy fried garlic and sliced Thai basil, this soup brings big and bold flavors. Ready in less than 30 minutes.
Looking for an easy Vietnamese soup recipe because you’re missing the taste of home and don’t know where to start? Well here it is! Check out this very simple sweet and sour fish soup with pickled mustard green (canh ca dua chua). No need to marinate anything. Toss everything in one pot and you’re done.
Luffa gourds grow on vines with dark green foliage and yellow blossoms. When harvested at a young stage, the luffa is edible and used in many soups and stir-fried dishes. One quick luffa recipe is a traditional Vietnamese soup, Canh Muop Thit Bam. This is a quick traditional Vietnamese soup made with ground pork and luffa gourd. It’s a soup I witnessed my parents made over and over again after a long day at work. It cooks up quickly. It satisfies the hunger and it goes wonderfully with steamed rice.
Here is quick pork meatball soup recipe that I made with winter melon (bi dao). Winter melon is part of the gourd family. The outside usually has light green specks on them and some varieties have a bit of fuzz on the skin. Winter melon has the texture of a cucumber that cooks up quickly and provides sweetness to soups. Winter melon with tender pork meatballs is a must-have soup for these cold winter days.
Malabar spinach, known as Rau Mong Toi in Vietnamese is commonly found in Asian supermarkets. They grow on vines with heart-shaped leaves and white blossoms. They are also known as vine spinach, ceylon spinach or Chinese spinach. The leaves have a mild taste with a somewhat slimy texture when cooked. In this recipe, I’m cooking malabar spinach with ground beef (canh mong toi nau thit bo bam).
I like to say that to be a true Vietnamese or become an honorary Vietnamese, one must successfully make (1) fish sauce dipping sauce (Nuoc Mam Cham) and (2) sweet and sour soup (Canh Chua). Here is a thorough written recipe with video instructions to help you accomplish the latter.
It’s chayote season! Lots and lots of chayotes ready for harvest! Here is my quick go-to recipe for a traditional soup (canh) using chayote and minced shrimp (canh su su nau tom bam). Make this soup along side a protein side dish and you have yourself a complete traditional Vietnamese meal.
This is a classic Vietnamese home cooking dish of sweet and sour fish soup and elephant ear taro. This soup goes great with a lot of caramelized protein side dishes (do an kho) in a traditional Vietnamese family meal.
Any kind of vegetable soup (canh) is a must in Vietnamese home cooking. Canh Dau Hu He is a very simple soup that takes no more than 15 minutes to make. The soup is made of chicken stock, tofu, garlic chives and ground pork.
A traditional soup side dish of kabocha squash and tender pork meatballs. These Vietnamese pork meatballs are soft with a springy texture. When paired with kabocha in a side soup, it’s simple good eating with no fuss. Eat with steamed rice for a complete meal.
A traditional Vietnamese family meal usually comes with a vegetable soup dish. Not only is it a healthy side dish, but having soup to slurp helps with the digestion of the food in a multi-course meal. One of the simplest traditional Vietnamese soups is mustard green soup or Canh Cai Be Xanh.
In Vietnamese cooking, we always clean bones first before making stock. Either rubbing them down with salt and giving them a good rinse with water, or parboiling the bones with salted water, cleaning the bones will get rid of all the impurities to keep the stock clear. In other words, boiling the bones first will remove all the gunk and make the stock pretty. In Vietnamese cooking, a highly prized stock is a clear stock.
Vietnamese sweet and sour soup (canh chua) is an example of everything that is great about Vietnamese home cooking. It uses a variety of fresh vegetables and herbs to produce a soup of contrasting yet complementary textures and flavors.
Soups, otherwise known as canh, is a staple in Vietnamese home cooking. However, rather than being served on its own, soup is treated as a side dish to steamed rice and a protein entrée. A simple Winter/Fall soup is Vietnamese Kabocha Squash.
It's starting to feel like Summer! The weather is finally warming up. The birds are chirping. The kids are playing outside and the neighbors are walking around half-naked. More importantly, the garden is blooming. The other day, I harvested my first Opo Squash (Bầu). I'm so proud of it because it's the first ever Opo Squash that didn't die as soon as it got started. Opo Squash, also known as Calabash Gourd or White Gourd, grows on vines and can grow up to the size of a baseball bat if you let it. Not only can you use it as a lethal weapon, Opo Squash can be used in a traditional Vietnamese side dish, Opo Squash and Shrimp Soup (Canh Bau Tom).
La Giang, also called River Leaf, mainly grows in Southeast Asian countries. During my recent trip to Vietnam, I made sure to bring some home with me. The leaves were boiled, frozen, and tucked neatly into my check-in baggage. Now when I have that craving for Canh Chua, I just thaw out my frozen boiled La Giang and I'm ready to go.
A delicious and hearty traditional Vietnamese pumpkin soup to accompany steamed rice. The kabocha squash adds a natural sweetness to the soup, while the pork ribs provide a savory depth of flavor to the broth.
Time and time again, I proclaimed Canh Chua is the best Vietnamese soup for a Vietnamese home cooked meal. I just love the smorgasbord of bold flavors: sweet, sour and spicy. Plus, you can use whatever protein and vegetables you like. The only requirements are the tomatoes (for the vibrant red color), and the green aromatic garnish of either Thai Basil, Culantro, or Rice Paddy Herbs. The rest is entirely up to you. For this version, I use squid for the protein and thin Enoki mushrooms for the vegetables. And of course, loads and loads of Thai chili for that wonderful kick of heat. Nothing makes me happier than a very spicy Canh Chua that makes me cry.
Vietnamese folk remedy says Papaya Soup, or Canh Du Du, stimulates lactation in new mothers. Whether it's true or not, I surely didn't complain when I was endlessly served Canh Du Du after the birth of my children. Canh Du Du and Vietnamese Sour Catfish Soup (Canh Chua) are two my favorite Vietnamese soups.
When eating a Vietnamese rice dinner, it's not a complete meal unless you have a soup side dish, also known as Canh. One of the quickest and simplest Canh is ground pork with cabbage. It can, however, look dull in a bowl. To fancy it up, I would stuff cabbage leaves with ground pork and tie it with a green onion, making cute little packages of savory goodness. The taste is the same whether I stuff the cabbage or not, but it makes a pretty presentation. It requires a little bit more labor but it's a great way to fish for the needed compliments once in awhile.
Fish Soup with Chinese Celery and Tomatoes (Canh Ca Nau Ngot) is a traditional Vietnamese soup that can be whipped up in mere minutes. This soup is similar to the Vietnamese Sour Fish Soup (Canh Chua Ca) but it's more mild in flavor and utilizes fewer ingredients. It's a great alternative when you don't have all ingredients for Canh Chua.
A traditional soup that is easy to make, featuring two main ingredients, chayote squash, and store-bought ground pork paste. Its light and flavorful broth pairs beautifully with steamed rice, making it an ideal accompaniment to other side dishes for a complete family-style meal.