6.5 oz carrots, roll-cut (about 1 large or 2 small carrots)
1 tomato, cut into wedges (optional)
1 small shallot, peeled
1/2 teaspoon salt (and more for par-boiling)
1 tablespoon fish sauce
cilantro, roughly chopped
black pepper
Preparation
Bring a pot with plenty of water to a boil. Add pork spare ribs with some salt, bring back to a boil and let it boil for 2 more minutes. Remove the ribs and rinse under water. Discard the liquid.
Clean the pot or in a clean pot, add pork spare ribs, 5 cups of water, shallot and 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Bring to a boil, then lower heat to a simmer, cover the pot. Skim off any foams/impurities.
While the ribs are being simmered, peel and cut potatoes into 1-inch cubes. Peel and roll-cut carrots into pieces slightly smaller than the potato cubes.
Simmer ribs until almost tender to your liking, 45-60 minutes or more depending on the ribs and your stovetop.
Increase the heat, add carrots and wait for the water to boil again. Add potatoes and once the water starts boiling, lower heat to a simmer. Cover and simmer until all ingredients are tender to your liking, about 10 more minutes.
Increase the heat and let the soup start to boil, add tomato (if using) and cook for about a minute and then add fish sauce. Adjust seasoning to taste. Turn off the heat, add a lot of cilantro and transfer to serving bowls, sprinkle with black pepper.
Notes
If too much liquid is lost during cooking, you can add some hot water at the end. Be careful to not dilute the soup too much.
I suggest cutting the carrots slightly smaller than the potato cubes so that they can finish cooking around the same time.
Suggestions for cooking this soup with an Instant Pot pressure cooker are below. You may need to experiment with pressure cooking time since it depends on the ribs and the size of the potatoes and carrots.
Parboiling the spare ribs like in the first step.
Add ribs, water, shallot and salt to the Instant Pot. Cook on high pressure for 11 minutes.
Quick release the pressure. Add carrots and potatoes. Cook on high pressure for 4-5 more minutes.
Quick release. Change to Sauté mode. Add tomato (if using) and fish sauce, let the soup come to a boil. Adjust seasoning to your liking. Add cilantro, black pepper and transfer to serving bowls.
main ingredients:
type of recipe:
soup
type of dish:
cuisine:
Vietnam
specific recipes:
on-a-budget
Type of meal:
lunch
