Tomato And Tofu Soup (Canh cà chua đậu hũ)
This soup is one of the common simple soups ("canh") that are served with Vietnamese meals. These soups are typically very simply flavored and are more vegetable than meat focused since meat is usually already served in a separate dish. This particularly soup has tofu and tomato. In Vietnam tofu is rarely pressed before cooking, the texture and taste of the tofu itself, while subtle, is appreciated for itself. Good quality tofu from an Asian market will taste better in these applications. A small amount of meat may be used to add flavor to the broth.
Ingredients[edit]
- 1 tsp. oil
- 1-2 oz. ground pork, little strips of pork, neck bones, or whatever you have on hand (optional)
- 1/2 cup onion sliced
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 6-10 oz firm tofu cut into 1 inch cubes
- 2 tomatos sliced into wedges
- Green onion and cilantro chopped
- Fish sauce and salt to taste
- Pepper
Method[edit]
1. Heat a little oil in your pot.
2. Saute a bit of the pork with sliced onions with pepper and salt until fragrant.
3. Add chicken broth, bring to a boil and skim bubbles.
4. Add cubes of tofu and sliced tomato and bring back to a simmer. Add fish sauce to taste or just salt or soy sauce, but fish sauce will give the best flavor. Let simmer 10 minutes or until the tomato is as cooked as you like.
5. Garnish with chopped green onions and cilantro--plenty of it, you want to mix it into the soup. Crack on some more pepper. Serve over steamed rice.
When I'm lazy, sometimes I'll cook just this soup to eat with rice but it works better as one dish among one or two more in a family style meal, especially with some sort of meat dish that is more strongly flavored and salty. I like to start with just a little rice in my bowl and eat it with some of the meat dish alone, then spoon in some soup and eat just soup and rice, then get a little more rice and eat them both together. This time around I had the soup and caramelized ground pork.
