Food & Receipts

Mud-grown plant, once only consumed by pigs, now sells for 70,000 VND/kg but not readily available for purchase

If you've ever had the pleasure of tasting this dish, it's likely that you'll forever be captivated by its unforgettable flavor.

Administrator

10 December, 2023

144

Ngó khoai or water yam is the young and slimy stems of yam plants that grow from the mother plant, usually very long and slender. In the past, water yam was only eaten by those who just picked it, while most people used it as animal feed.

But gradually, when people learned about the deliciousness of water yam, this vegetable has become a specialty that city dwellers love and seek to buy. Raw water yam is sold at the rural market for only about 30-40 thousand VND. If it is processed and vacuum packed, it is sold at some online markets for prices ranging from 60-70 thousand VND. There are places where it is sold at higher prices, depending on the type and time of purchase.

From water yam, we can make many delicious dishes such as stir-fries and soups. Among them, sour soup with water yam and ingredients such as snail, meat, ribs, fish, balls of fish… is very popular. Water yam is soft and fragrant, with a slightly strange taste, and the addition of yam makes it extremely attractive.

You can refer to the cool and attractive way to cook sour soup with water yam below.

Ingredients for making sour soup with water yam

– Water yam: 1 bundle, about 400g

– Pork belly: 100g

– Fried tofu: 4 pieces

– Tia to leaves: 8 leaves

– Vietnamese mint: 3 sprigs

– Scallion leaves: 3 sprigs

– Tamarind: 2 tablespoons

– Common spices: a little

Steps to cook sour soup with water yam

Preparation of ingredients

– After buying, wash the tia to leaves and scallion leaves, then chop them finely. Remove the roots of the Vietnamese mint, rinse with clean water, then cut them into small pieces about the size of your thumb.

– Peel off the outer skin of the water yam. If you want to remove all the resin from the water yam, soak it in a mixture of diluted salt water and 1 tablespoon of tamarind. Then boil about 300ml of filtered water and add the water yam to the pot, blanch for about 3 minutes, then remove and drain the water.

– After buying, rub the pork belly with a little salt, then rinse with clean water and boil it with 500ml of water for about 15 minutes over high heat. When the pork is cooked, take it out to cool, then cut it into bite-sized pieces. Keep the broth to cook the soup.

– Soak the fried tofu in warm water for about 15 minutes, then remove and cut it into small square pieces.

Cooking the sour soup with water yam

– Boil the pork broth again with high heat, when the water boils, add 1 tablespoon of salt, 1 tablespoon of seasoning powder, 1 teaspoon of MSG, blanched water yam, pork belly, and fried tofu.

– Cook for about 5-7 minutes, then add 1 tablespoon of tamarind, season again to taste, sprinkle with tia to leaves, scallion leaves, and Vietnamese mint that have been finely chopped, then turn off the heat.

– Ladle the sour soup with water yam into bowls and enjoy.

Sour soup with water yam is refreshing and flavorful. The soup is seasoned to taste and combines with the natural sweetness of the meat and water yam, which is crispy and extremely appetizing.

How to cook water yam soup without itching

– If you don’t want the water yam soup to itch when you eat it, when cooking, you should not use bamboo chopsticks, but use a ladle or stainless steel chopsticks to stir.

– Before processing water yam, you should blanch it to eliminate the foam, which helps prevent itching when eating water yam soup.