Vietnamese Opo Squash & Pork Meatball Soup (Canh Bầu Thịt Viên)
Vietnamese cuisine offers many types of vegetable soups, called canh, and this version features opo squash with easy-to-make pork meatballs.
Ingredients · Servings 4
- 1 medium opo squash (about 1 lb, peel and cut into thick matchsticks)
- 2 green onions (thinly slice, whites and greens separated)
- 10 oz ground pork
- 3 large garlic cloves (minced)
- 1 large shallot (minced)
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1 1/2 quarts water
- 2 teaspoons salt (divided)
- 2 teaspoons chicken bouillon powder (divided)
- 1 teaspoon granulated sugar (divided)
- 2 teaspoons fish sauce (divided)
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper (divided)
Method · 15 min
- In a medium bowl, combine ground pork with the whites of the green onions, half of the shallots and garlic, salt (1 tsp), chicken bouillon powder (1 tsp), fish sauce (1 tsp), sugar (1 tsp), and ground black pepper (1/4 tsp). Mix and set aside.
- In a medium stockpot, heat the oil. Add remaining half of garlic and shallots, and sauté until fragrant (about 20 seconds). Add water (1-1/2 quarts) and bring the pot to a boil (about 8 minutes).
- Using clean hands or two spoons, shape the seasoned pork into small balls and drop them into the pot. Cook for about 5 minutes.
- and simmer for about 5 minutes, or until tender.
- Season the soup to taste with the remaining salt (1 tsp), chicken bouillon powder (1 tsp), fish sauce (1 tsp), sugar (1 tsp), and ground black pepper (1/4 tsp). Finish with the reserved green onions and optional sprinkle of freshly ground black pepper just before serving.
Enjoy it on its own to warm up on chilly days, or serve it alongside hot steamed rice as part of a traditional Vietnamese family-style meal (cơm gia đình).
Why You Will Love This Recipe
Unlike bitter melon, this opo squash isn’t traumatizing. It’s mild in flavor…. borderline boring, really. This makes it a favorite among Vietnamese kids.
Instead of adding the ground pork loosely into the soup, we’re shaping it quickly into moist pork meatballs.
This makes the protein more substantial and gives each spoonful a more meaty but soft bite.
What You Will Need
To make Canh Bau Thit Vien, gather the following ingredients:
- Opo squash: Called Trái Bầu in Vietnamese, this is a long, pale green Asian squash. The skin is smooth and should be peeled before cooking. The flesh is white with a firm but slightly soft texture. Young opo has small, soft seeds that you can eat. Mature squash have larger, tougher seeds, so remove them before cooking. This squash can be mistaken for a type of wintermelon (bí đao), which looks similar but has a slight fuzz on the skin. Bi Dao is very neutral in flavor compared to Bau so Bau is my favorite of the two. If you can’t find opo, you can sub with bí đao, zucchini, chayote squash, and even cabbage.
- Ground pork: Ground pork is the most common protein of choice in Vietnamese cuisine but if pork isn’t your thing, try opo soup with shrimp.
- Shallot, garlic and green onions: The aromatics that make everything smell great.
- Neutral oil: We just need a little bit to stir fry the aromatics to get the aroma going. I’m using vegetable oil.
- Seasonings: Ground black pepper, fish sauce, salt, sugar and optional chicken bouillon powder for more umami.
