Cherry & Dennis Helper Habitat
Vietnamese Bottle Gourd and Minced Pork Soup
越式蒲瓜肉碎清湯
Recipe overview
Pale bottle gourd slices simmer with cooked minced pork in a light Vietnamese home-style soup.
01
Ingredients
Main ingredients
- 1, about 500 g Bottle gourd / opo squash
- 250 g Minced pork
- 2 Shallots
- 1 stalk Spring onion
- about 1 litre Water
Pork seasoning
- 1 tsp Fish sauce
- ¼ tsp Black pepper
Soup seasoning
- 1 tsp Fish sauce
- about ¼ tsp Salt
Oil for sautéing
- 1 tsp Neutral cooking oil
02
Tools
- Knife and two cutting boards
- Peeler
- Spoon
- Lidded soup pot
- Ladle
- Mixing bowl
- Food thermometer
03
Steps
Step 1
Wash gourd
Wash the whole bottle gourd under clean water.
Step 2
Peel skin
Thinly peel the outer skin.
Step 3
Halve lengthwise
Cut the gourd lengthwise in half.
Step 4
Scoop soft seeds
Use a spoon to remove the soft seedy centre.
Step 5
Slice half-moons
Cut the seeded gourd crosswise into half-moons about 1 cm thick.
Step 6
Mince shallots
Finely chop shallots on the vegetable board.
Step 7
Season pork
Handle raw pork separately and mix with fish sauce and black pepper; wash hands afterwards.
Step 8
Sauté shallots
Heat oil in the soup pot over medium heat and sauté shallots until fragrant.
Step 9
Cook pork fully
Add and break up pork, stir-frying until fully cooked. Confirm the centre reaches at least 75°C with a clean food thermometer; continue cooking if needed.
Step 10
Add water and boil
Add about 1 litre water and bring the soup to a boil.
Step 11
Simmer gourd
Add gourd slices and simmer over medium heat for about 6 to 8 minutes until tender and fully cooked.
Step 12
Season and serve
Chop spring onion. Season soup with remaining fish sauce and salt, add spring onion and ladle into bowls; watch the hot soup.
Common mistakes
- Thick gourd slices cook slowly. Adding water before checking pork doneness makes its centre difficult to measure.
Tips
Fish sauce contains fish allergen. Choose a young tender gourd; do not leave cooked soup at room temperature for long.
