Crock Pot Pork Spare Rib Soup With Potatoes and Carrots (Canh Sườn Khoai Tây Cà Rốt)

A typical Vietnamese family meal always includes a soup, or canh, and one of my favorites it this canh sườn, or pork spare rib soup. Spare ribs give the broth its body, and potatoes and carrots make for a hearty soup that tastes just as good on its own as it does with rice. I adapted my family's recipe when I was in college to cook it in a slow cooker, because I didn't have a lot of time as a student to cook.

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If you don't have a Crock Pot or slow cooker, you can also cook this on the stove. It won't take as long, but you will have to keep an eye on it, and the ribs won't quite have that fall off the bone tenderness that I prefer.

Jump to:

• 🍳 Ingredients
• 🔪 Instructions
• 💭 Tips and substitutions
• 🍚 Serving suggestions
• 🥡 How to store or make in advance
• 👪 Serving size
• 📋 Recipe

🍳 Ingredients

You will need:

• 1 lb pork spare ribs, cut between the bones
• 3-4 medium red potatoes (about 1 lb), peeled cut into bite sized pieces
• 3-4 large carrots (about 1 lb), peeled and cut into half inch pieces
• 3-4 cups water
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 small shallot, minced
• 2 tbsp fish sauce
• salt and pepper to taste
• 2 stalks scallion for garnish

🔪 Instructions

Whether or not you're using a Crock Pot or cooking this on the stove, you'll need to parboil your ribs. Add enough water in a pot to just barely cover the ribs, and plenty of salt. Bring to a boil and then immediately drain and rinse the ribs. Parboiling removes impurities and results in a clearer broth for your end product. You'll hear me say this a lot, but we Vietnamese value a clear broth!

After the ribs are rinsed off, add them to the crock pot with fish sauce, minced shallot and garlic, salt and pepper. You can leave the meat to marinate for about 30 minutes, or go ahead and add 3-4 cups of water to the slow cooker. I use 3 because I don't like a lot of broth in my soup. Use 4 if you like your soup brothier.

Cook the spare ribs on high for about an hour and a half or 2 hours. Add the peeled potatoes and carrots and continue cooking for 45 minutes to another hour, or until the potatoes are fork tender.

If you're cooking this on low instead of on high, you can double the cooking times.

For the stove top method, add the ribs back into a pot with the same amount of water and bring to a boil. Then, turn the heat down to a simmer and cook the ribs for about 30 minutes. Add the carrots and cook for about 10 minutes before add adding the potatoes. Keep simmering until the vegetables fork tender.

Finish off your soup by garnishing it with some chopped scallions.

💭 Tips and substitutions

I prefer cooking using the Crock Pot/slow cooker method for this soup because cooking the soup on low heat gives you the perfect clear broth. If you're cooking this on the stove top, make sure to keep an eye on it and don't let it get to a rolling boil, which will make the ribs tough and the broth cloudy.

🍚 Serving suggestions

I like eating this on its own, but to make it a heartier meal, you can serve this soup with rice.

Canh sườn is a great soup to add to your menu if you want to make a typical Vietnamese family meal. A family meal usually consists of rice (cơm), a vegetable dish (rau), a main protein, (món mặn), and a soup (canh). Use this as your soup and check out my other recipes to customize your own dinner! Here is a suggested menu:

• Rice
• Rau: Tofu skin and bok choy stir fry
• Món Mặn: Vietnamese Roasted Chicken (Gà Roti)
• Canh: Crock Pot Pork Spare Rib Soup With Potatoes and Carrots (Canh Sườn Khoai Tây Cà Rốt)

🥡 How to store or make in advance

This soup will last in the fridge for about a week. You can cook this the ribs on low for 4 hours if you will be away from the house for longer, and add the potatoes and carrots during the last hour of cooking.

👪 Serving size

This soup comfortably makes 4-6 small side portions if you are serving it as part of a larger meal. If you're eating it on it's own, it makes 2-3 large bowls of soup.

📋 Recipe

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