Pairs well with Northern Vietnamese Boiled Pork Belly with Water Spinach Soup and Crispy Tofu
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Northern Vietnamese Boiled Pork Belly with Water Spinach Soup and Crispy Tofu
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A nostalgic Northern Vietnamese family meal featuring tender boiled pork belly, vibrant water spinach soup with ginger, crispy golden tofu, and a frothy shrimp paste dipping sauce infused with calamansi. Simple ingredients bring back the warmth of childhood memories.
00:45:00 total
Serves 4
medium
Main Various
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Ingredients
- pork belly - watch the video to see (boil with smashed shallot and salt)
- shallot - 1 small (smashed for boiling pork belly)
- salt - 1 teaspoon (for boiling pork belly)
- ice water - enough to cover (for plunging cooked pork belly)
- water spinach - 200 grams (washed thoroughly)
- tomatoes - 2 medium (cut into wedges)
- shrimp paste - 2 tablespoons (dissolved in cool water, used in broth and dipping sauce)
- water - 1/4 cup (cool water to dissolve shrimp paste)
- minced garlic - 2 cloves (sauté until fragrant)
- ginger - 1 small piece (small piece, smashed)
- lime juice - 1 tablespoon (freshly squeezed for soup)
- tofu - 200 grams (cut into cubes and deep fried)
- sugar - 1 teaspoon (for dipping sauce)
- cooking wine - 1 teaspoon (for dipping sauce)
- hot oil - 2 tablespoons (for dipping sauce)
- calamansi juice - 1 tablespoon (for dipping sauce)
Instructions
- Boil Pork Belly: Boil pork belly with a smashed shallot and salt for about 30 to 40 minutes depending on thickness. Check doneness by piercing with a chopstick; no pink liquid should come out. Remove and plunge into ice water to prevent darkening. Drain and slice thinly. Save the broth for later.
- Prepare Vegetables: Wash water spinach thoroughly. Cut tomatoes into wedges.
- Prepare Shrimp Paste Liquid: In a small bowl, dissolve shrimp paste in cool water and let it settle.
- Cook Soup: In a medium saucepan, sauté minced garlic until fragrant. Add tomatoes and cook for about 2 minutes. Pour in the pork broth. Add water spinach and a small piece of smashed ginger. Extract only the clear shrimp paste liquid on top and add to the broth. Let it boil again and cook for 3 to 5 minutes until water spinach is tender.
- Finish Soup: Transfer soup to a large serving bowl and squeeze in fresh lime juice.
- Prepare Crispy Tofu: Cut tofu into cubes and deep fry until golden and crispy.
- Make Dipping Sauce: Mix shrimp paste with sugar, cooking wine, hot oil, and calamansi juice. Stir vigorously until frothy and fragrant.
