Canh Bau Tom - Vietnamese Opo Squash Soup

Total Time: 45 mins Preparation Time: 15 mins Cook Time: 30 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 4
• 1 large opo squash, peeled and sliced thinly
• 6 cups water
• 1/2 cup onion, thinly sliced
• 1/2-1 lb shrimp, peeled and diced
• 4 -6 green onions, diced, separated in half
• 1/4-1/2 cup cilantro, coarsely chopped, separated in half
• 1 -2 teaspoon pepper, can use black
• 2 -3 tablespoons fish sauce, separated in half
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil

Recipe

• 1 pour the stock into a large stock pan.
• 2 add the opo squash and cook over medium-high heat until the squash becomes soft and translucent.
• 3 the squash may not become translucent if it's cut too thick. just look for it to soften up.
• 4 while the squash cooks put the shrimp, green onions, and cilantro into a mixing bowl.
• 5 mix and sort of blend the flavors together with a fork.
• 6 do not turn this into a mushy paste. the idea is to combine the flavors together.
• 7 season the shrimp mixture with the pepper, half of the fish sauce, sugar, and sesame oil. mix well.
• 8 once the squash is translucent, turn the heat to high and bring to a boil.
• 9 add the sliced onions.
• 10 add the shrimp mixture to the soup in spoonfuls, this sort of makes dumplings.
• 11 cover and cook until the shrimp "dumplings" are cooked.
• 12 after the dumplings cook, remove from heat and add the rest of the fish sauce.
• 13 stir to mix in the flavors.
• 14 garnish with the additional cilantro and green onions.
• 15 let the soup stand for 15 minutes before serving.
• 16 serve over rice and/or kho recipes (stews).
• 17 to simplify the recipe:.
• 18 skip mixing the shrimp all together with the seasonings. dice the shrimp up and mix all the seasonings in the soup at the same time as the dumplings.