Duncan Lu’s Vietnamese choko soup (canh su su)

There’s nothing like enjoying a clear broth soup at the dinner table in a Vietnamese household. As a kid, most nights Mum would cook a soup, stir-fry and condiment dishes to pair with jasmine rice. The soups were almost always a variation of pork or chicken, with different vegetables adding flavour, nutrition and fibre. Mum loves to stir-fry choko, so it was rare for her to add it to soups, but that was not the case for my good friend and champion of Vietnamese home cooking, Duncan Lu, who grew up eating choko soup. Given he still eats it regularly, I asked Duncan for his recipe and thoughts on choko in clear bone broth. He replied: ’The natural sweetness and texture of choko when simmered until tender, but still firm, is what makes it the perfect fruit for this soup. My variation of choko soup combines chokos and carrots to create a sweet and savoury umami flavour.’

Duncan Lu’s Vietnamese choko soup Credit: Mark Roper

• serves

  2

• prep

  10 minutes

• cook

  2:10 hours

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

• 2 chokos, peeled and seeds removed, chopped into 2–3 cm chunks
• 1 carrot, peeled and chopped into 1–2 cm chunks
• sea salt and sugar to taste
• bunch of coriander, leaves picked
• cracked black pepper
• steamed jasmine rice, to serve

Pork bone broth

• 1.5 kg pork neck bones
• 1 onion, base removed, skin left on
• 2.5 cm piece of ginger, crushed
• 5 g dried shrimp
• 2 fish sauce
• 1⁄3 tsp anchovy salt or MSG (see note)
• 1 tbsp sea salt
• 30 g rock sugar or 1 tbsp sugar
• bunch of coriander roots, scraped clean and rinsed

Instructions

1. To make the pork bone broth, place the pork neck bones in a large stockpot and cover with plenty of water. Bring to the boil, then drain immediately and rinse under running water to remove any impurities.
   
2. Return the pork neck bones to the pot, along with the remaining pork bone broth ingredients. Cover with 5 litres of water and bring to the boil, then reduce the heat to low and simmer for 2 hours.
   
3. Add the choko and carrot to the pot and simmer for a further 10 minutes or until the choko is tender but still firm. Season to taste with salt and sugar.
   
4. Divide the choko soup among bowls, top with the coriander leaves and a pinch of pepper, and serve with steamed jasmine rice and other Vietnamese savoury dishes, such as braised lemongrass chicken or thit kho.

Note: Monosodium glutamate (MSG) has been treated unfairly over the years by Western media, not unlike the durian! MSG occurs naturally in many foods and is added as a delicious umami flavour enhancer to many Chinese and other East-Asian dishes. MSG can be bought from Asian supermarkets.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.