Mai

This is a dish that can be made year-round but that I associate with the end of Tết or the Vietnamese new year celebrations. Dưa muối (also known as dưa chua or dưa cải chua) translates to fermented mustard greens and is a must-have side dish for Tết meals. You can either buy this pre-made at some Asian grocery stores or make it yourself. Check out our recipe for it here! After the celebrations are over and the mustard greens become a bit too sour for eating as-is, we turn them into soup- just like how Koreans make kimchi-jjigae with old kimchi!

This canh is quite simple, with only a few ingredients. Of course, as with any other dish, there are countless different versions across different families. One of the most simple versions of this canh involves only the mustard greens, raw shelled peanuts, and seasoning. The version I’m sharing here is with beef. The best choice is a cut of beef that has muscle strands and tendons like shank- which requires some simmering time to break down the tough meat, but you’re rewarded with some delicious tender pieces of beef.

Some people also make this with pork ribs. Some people add peanuts to the version with meat and some don’t. Some people add in wedges of tomatoes at the end, I personally don’t. Choosing to include or not include all of these different ingredients gives you a dozen different versions of this dish- allowing you to customize it to your liking.

Canh dưa chua • Vietnamese fermented mustard greens soup

Recipe by MM Bon Appétit Course: SoupsCuisine: VietnameseDifficulty: Easy

Servings

4

servings

Prep time

30

minutes

Cooking time

40

minutes

Total time

0

minutes

Cook Mode

Keep the screen of your device on

Ingredients

• 200 g 200 beef (preferably shank)

• 400 g 400 fermented mustard greens

• 75 g 75 raw peeled peanuts

• 1 1 shallot

• 1 1 stalk green onion (optional: for garnish)

• 2 tsp 2 fish sauce (+ more to taste)

• 1/4 tsp 1/4 ground black pepper

• 1.5 liter 1.5 water

• 1 tsp 1 bouillon

• Vegetable oil

Directions

• Cut beef into bite-sized cubes.
• Rinse fermented mustard greens to remove excess brine, then strain.
• Thinly slice shallot.
• Cut green onion into 2-3 cm lengths.
• Roughly crush/chop peanuts with a knife.
  Note: I prefer a knife rather than a mortar and pestle because the knife gives you cleaner large pieces and fewer crumbs- which would affect the clarity of the broth.
• Heat a pot on medium and add a bit of vegetable oil.
• Add in the shallot and sauté until fragrant.
• Add in the beef, along with the fish sauce and ground black pepper, and sauté until pieces are mostly brown on the outside.
• Add in the mustard greens and sauté for another 30 seconds.
• Add in water and bring to boil on medium high. Skim any foam that rises to the surface.
• If you want the peanuts to be soft, add them in right away. If you want them to still be slightly crunchy, add them in halfway through simmering.
• Reduce heat to medium low, cover, and simmer for 30 minutes (or until the beef is tender).
• Add in the peanuts after 15 minutes, if you have not already.
• Ladle the soup into a bowl and top with green onion.

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