Mai

Canh măng is probably the taste that I associate most strongly with Lunar New Year, even though bánh chưng is the main event. Without the unique earthy and sweet flavors of this bamboo shoot soup, Tết just wouldn’t be the complete!

My family uses fresh bamboo shoots more often in our cooking throughout the year (like for bún măng vịt or in sautés), but dried bamboo is almost exclusively reserved for this Tết soup.

The base is a pork broth, usually made with some combination of ribs and trotters. They provide the broth with not only a beautiful natural sweetness, but also an abundance of collagen- which is great for your joints, skin, and hair.

The bamboo shoots need to be soaked in hot water for 3-5 days with several water changes and boiled before using. This rehydrates the bamboo and removes cyanogenic glycosides that could otherwise upset your stomach. We soaked ours for about 4 days.

The bamboo shoots are sautéed separately first, allowing them to absorb seasoning before added to the pot of broth and simmered, infusing the bamboo flavors into the soup.

If you have never had dried bamboo, the distinct taste is a bit difficult to describe. It has a rich umami flavor along with a unique fragrance. The texture has a meaty quality- chewy but tender that I love.

INGREDIENTS FOR CANH MĂNG

• Dried bamboo shoots – Măng khô: The edible new growth of many bamboo species. Bamboo shoots are sold in different formats in Asian grocery stores – fresh, fresh canned, and dried. Fresh (and fresh canned) bamboo shoots are crunchy and mild. They are great for sautéed dishes and light soups like our bún măng vịt. Dried bamboo shoots have a tender/chewy/meaty texture. They are much more intense in flavor compared to fresh shoots. Because of this, dried bamboo shoots are best used in richer soups and braised dishes. This particular soup is probably the most common and well-known use of dried bamboo shoots.
• Pork spare ribs & trotters – Sườn heo & giò heo: This soup can really be made with any bone-in cut of pork. My choice cuts are spare ribs and trotters. The ribs give the broth a lovely sweetness, while the trotters add some fattiness and an abundance of collagen. You can use either, or a combination of both- which is my preference.
• White onion – Hành tây trắng: Added during the parboiling of the pork to help eliminate any odor.
• Green onion – Hành lá
• Shallot – Hành khô/hành tím
• Salt – Muối
• Fish sauce – Nước mắm: arguably the most important seasoning sauce in Vietnamese cuisine. Made from fermented anchovies, it is salty and incredibly umami. Non-vegan Vietnamese recipes without fish sauce are very rare. The best nước mắm comes from Phú Quốc or surrounding islands off the coast- Southwest of mainland Vietnam. Our favorite brand available outside of Vietnam is Red Boat (U.S.).
• Bouillon – Hạt nêm: think broth, but in solid form. Bouillon is an amazingly easy way to bring that umami flavor to your food. We use it instead of salt in many of our dishes. You can usually find chicken, pork, or mushroom bouillon. In Vietnam, Knorr is the most common brand. However, we have only been able to find Knorr in powder form in the US and France, not granules. Instead, we use Totole brand chicken or mushroom bouillon. The quantities on our website are based on the granule-type so if you use powder, adjust to your taste.
• Vegetable oil – Dầu thực vật
• Ground black pepper – Tiêu đen xay

DIRECTIONS FOR CANH MĂNG

1. Add bamboo to a heatproof bowl or pot, cover with boiling water. Let soak for 3-5 days (see Notes), straining and adding in fresh boiling water 2-3 times a day.
2. Add ribs/trotters to a pot- you can either use the same pot you would for the broth or a smaller one just for parboiling.
3. Add salt, white onion, and just enough cold water to cover.
4. Bring to boil on medium high, then let boil for 3 minutes.
5. Strain and rinse the ribs/trotters to completely remove bits of scum. If you’re using the same pot for the broth, give it a rinse as well.
6. To a large soup pot, add the pork, water, and bouillon.
7. Bring to boil on medium high heat.
8. Once boiling, reduce to medium low, cover, and simmer for 45 minutes.
9. Strain and rinse bamboo shoots.
10. Add to a pot and cover with water.
11. Bring bamboo shoots to boil on medium high. Let boil for 5 minutes.
12. Strain bamboo shoots and let sit until cool enough to handle.
13. In the meantime, peel and thinly slice shallot.
14. Cut green onion stalks to separate the white and green parts. Cut the whites into ~3cm pieces and quarter lengthwise. Thinly slice the greens.
15. Once the bamboo shoots are cool enough to handle, cut them into bite-sized pieces, about 3-4cm. Discard any tough bits.
16. Heat a pan on medium and add oil. Add shallots and sauté until fragrant, about 30-40 seconds.
17. Add bamboo shoots, season with fish sauce, bouillon, and ground black pepper, and sauté for 5 minutes.
18. Add bamboo shoots to the pot of broth and mix them in.
19. Cover and simmer on medium low for an additional 20 minutes.
20. Season to taste with more fish sauce, if needed.
21. Ladle the soup into a large bowl, garnish with green onion and serve!

RECIPE VIDEO

Canh măng khô sườn & móng giò • Dried bamboo soup with ribs & trotters

Course: Sides, SoupsCuisine: VietnameseDifficulty: Medium

Makes

6

servings

Prep time

15

minutes

Cooking time

1

hour 

10

minutes

Total time

1

hour 

25

minutes

Unique yet comforting soup with dried bamboo and pork ribs/trotters. A well-loved dish for Tết/Lunar New Year, especially in Northern Vietnam.

Ingredients

• Parboiling meat

• 600 g 600 pork spare ribs/trotters or a combination (I use half and half)

• 1 tbsp 1 salt

• 1/4 1/4 white onion

• Broth

• 1.5 liters 1.5 water

• 1 tbsp 1 bouillon

• Bamboo shoots

• 200 g 200 dehydrated bamboo shoots

• 30 g 30 shallot

• 2 tsp 2 vegetable oil

• 2 tbsp 2 fish sauce

• 2 tsp 2 bouillon

• 1/2 tsp 1/2 ground black pepper

• Garnish

• 2 stalks 2 green onion

Directions

• Add bamboo to a heatproof bowl or pot, cover with boiling water. Let soak for 3-5 days (see Notes), straining and adding in fresh boiling water 2-3 times a day.
• Add ribs/trotters to a pot- you can either use the same pot you would for the broth or a smaller one just for parboiling.
• Add salt, white onion, and just enough cold water to cover.
• Bring to boil on medium high, then let boil for 3 minutes.
• Strain and rinse the ribs/trotters to completely remove bits of scum. If you’re using the same pot for the broth, give it a rinse as well.
• To a large soup pot, add the pork, water, and bouillon.
• Bring to boil on medium high heat.
• Once boiling, reduce to medium low, cover, and simmer for 45 minutes.
• Strain and rinse bamboo shoots.
• Add to a pot and cover with water.
• Bring bamboo shoots to boil on medium high. Let boil for 5 minutes.
• Strain bamboo shoots and let sit until cool enough to handle.
• In the meantime, peel and thinly slice shallot.
• Cut green onion stalks to separate the white and green parts. Cut the whites into ~3cm pieces and quarter lengthwise. Thinly slice the greens.
• Once the bamboo shoots are cool enough to handle, cut them into bite-sized pieces, about 3-4cm. Discard any tough bits.
• Heat a pan on medium and add oil. Add shallots and sauté until fragrant, about 30-40 seconds.
• Add bamboo shoots, season with fish sauce, bouillon, and ground black pepper, and sauté for 5 minutes.
• Add bamboo shoots to the pot of broth and mix them in.
• Cover and simmer on medium low for an additional 20 minutes.
• Season to taste with more fish sauce, if needed.
• Ladle the soup into a large bowl, garnish with green onion and serve!

Recipe Video

Notes

• Depending on the type of dehydrated bamboo you buy, the soaking time may be different. In the photo below, you can see 2 different types.
  The type on the left, my mom sent from Vietnam. It is very dry and leathery before soaking. This needs 4-5days.
  The type on the right, we bought here in the US and it is much less dry before soaking. This needs 2.5/3 days.
  

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