A traditional "dry soup" from Asian food authority Corinne Trang.
5 hr 15 minPrep: 15 minCook: 5 hr
Serves: 8Save Share
Ingredients (21)
Stock:
3 to 4 pound slab baby back pork ribs
3 tablespoon fish sauce
4 ounce fresh ginger, peeled and thinly sliced
8 -- green onions, finely chopped
1 pound daikon, peeled and cut into 1-inch rounds
5 quart water
1 teaspoon white or black peppercorns
1 teaspoon kosher salt
Soup:
3 tablespoon vegetable oil
8 clove garlic, minced
2 -- limes, quartered
2 -- red Thai chiles, stems and seeds removed and thinly sliced into rounds
1 pound fresh mung beans sprouts, thin roots removed
4 -- green onions, thinly sliced
1 bunch cilantro, coarsely chopped
1 pound ground pork
1 pound dried rice sticks or rice noodles
24 -- shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 tablespoon fish sauce
Directions
To prepare stock, place pork ribs, fish sauce, ginger, green onions, daikon and 5 quarts water in a large stockpot. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low, partially cover with a lid, and simmer 4 to 5 hours. Add salt and peppercorns; simmer an additional 30 minutes, skimming foam and fat from top. Strain stock, discarding solids.
To prepare soup, heat oil in a small pan over medium heat. Add garlic and fry until golden. Remove from heat and transfer to a heatproof bowl. Set aside.
Place lime wedges, chiles, bean sprouts, green onions and cilantro in separate dishes.
Bring stock to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to low and simmer. Place a small portion of pork in a ladle and lower it into the pan just enough to allow some of the stock inside the ladle. Stir with a fork to separate the pork and release the contents into the stock. Repeat with remaining pork.
Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat. Cook noodles until tender yet firm. Drain well, reserving cooking liquid. Cook shrimp in the cooking liquid until opaque, about 1 minute. Drain well.
Transfer noodles to 8 soup bowls. Place shrimp on top of noodles. To serve as a regular soup, ladle broth with ground pork over each serving of noodles and shrimp. To serve as a dry soup, use a slotted spoon to transfer ground pork over noodles and shrimp. Ladle broth into 8 individual small rice bowls and serve on the side for sipping throughout the meal.
Garnish with fried garlic and oil, chiles, bean sprouts, green onions and cilantro. Squeeze a lime wedge over each serving. Add fish sauce.