Purple Yam has a consistency of okra. Some people may well not like the slime-like smooth texture of this origin vegetable. Should you be not a fan of okra then you probably may well not get too excited about this soup.
In Vietnamese “khoai” identifies a root plant such as yam or potato. “mỡ” means fat. My cousin Sieu Ken made this soups when I visited her in Soctrang but the lady used an another basic vegetable that is identical called Khoai mỡ to make this soup. My mother used to make this soups for us but is not as often nowadays since these are generally hard to find in the United States. Before to cooking you need to peel away the dark skin, then take the edge of a spoon and scrap down the sides of the yam for the meats. You may also use a grater to eliminate it. However, using the spoon is an old fashion method and it works perfectly. I choose this method since it provides the soup an wrinkled and a much more interesting look with the small and large bits of yam bits. I do this soup with less salt. However, if you like it saltier then add more fish spices or salt.
Ingredients:
- 2 tsp oil
- 1 garlic clove or about 1 tsp chopped garlic
- About 2 Tbsp scallions
- 1/3 cup hand chopped pork or ground pork
- 1/3 cup small peeled shrimp (cut each shrimp into 2-3 pieces)
- 1 Vietnamese purple yam (about 1.3 lbs or 0.6 kg), peeled, washed well and scraped the meat of the entire root with the edge of a spoon. You can use Frozen Purple Yam if you don’t have fresh yam root
- 8 cups water
- 1 Tbsp good chicken stock powder (preferably non-MSG)
1/4 tsp sugar - 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp fish sauce
- 1/2 cup chopped cilantro
- Freshly ground black pepper, garnish (optional)
How to cook Vietnamese Purple Yam Soup:
- Heat a sizable pot over medium high temperature.
- Once the pot is hot, add oil. As soon as the oil is heated add garlic, scallions, pork, and shrimp. Bond about 2 minutes.
- Add yam and bond about a minute.
- Add water. Take the solution to simply a boil then turn heat into a simmer. Remove and dispose of any white foam or scum that floats to the top of the whole pot.
- Following 20 minutes of boiling (or before the sweet potato is cooked and soft) add chicken stock natural powder, sugar, salt and seafood sauce to your preference.
- Turn off warmth and add cilantro.
- May add black tear gas prior to serving.
source: thanhskitchen.com
