Vietnamese soups are usually light and refreshing, and this tofu soup with tomato and chives, or canh hẹ đậu hũ cà chua is no different. All of these ingredients cook quickly and make for a clean, clear-tasting broth.
Pin Vietnamese Tofu Soup with Tomato and Chives (Canh Dẹ Đậu Hũ Cà Chua) to try later!
Vegetable soups are essential to Vietnamese home cooking. You'll rarely see a dinner spread without soup included. Many of them use pork spare ribs to flavor the broth, like in my recipes for kabocha squash soup or carrot and potato soup. This soup uses ground pork, which cooks much faster.
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Ingredients
This recipe uses Chinese chives, also called garlic chives. They're larger, flatter and wider than regular chives, which are usually chopped up very small and sprinkled on top of food as a garnish. Unlike the chives you'd find in a western grocery store, Chinese chives aren't usually eaten raw.
You will need
- ground pork
- minced shallot
- minced garlic
- salt
- black pepper
- fish sauce
- soft tofu
- garlic chives
- tomatoes
- water
See recipe card for quantities.
Instructions
Season the ground pork with salt, pepper, fish sauce, minced shallot and minced garlic. Mix to combine and set aside.
Wash the chives and then chop the hard, bottom ends of the chives off and discard them. Chop the rest of the chives up into 1-2 inch pieces.
Drain the soft tofu and slice it into strips, about ½ inch wide and 2 inches long.
Wash the tomatoes and chop them into 4-8 wedges each, depending on how large the tomatoes are.
Heat water up in a medium pot until it comes to a boil. Then, add spoonfuls of the ground pork mixture into the hot water. Simmer the pork meatballs until they are floating.
Once the meatballs are floating (which means they're cooked), add the tomato wedges and the soft tofu slices. Stir carefully to evenly mix everything up, but be careful not to crush the tofu.
Once the today has softened slightly, but is not mushy, add the chopped chives. Stir carefully again to distribute the chives. The soup is ready once the chives have softened slightly.
Hint: Be very careful when stirring this soup! The soft tofu is quite fragile.
Substitutions
- Tofu: You can use medium to firm tofu if you're worried about crushing the tofu with your ladle. I find the silky soft tofu texture to be more pleasing in this dish though.
- Ground pork: Ground beef or turkey could also be used, but a fattier blend of ground meat would work better here. It helps flavor the broth and prevents the meatballs from drying out. You could also use a plant-based ground meat alternative like Beyond or Impossible.
Serving suggestions
This dish is a great vegetable soup course in 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).
For example, a Vietnamese family meal using recipes from this blog might include:
- Rice
- Rau: Vietnamese Chayote Squash and Egg Stir Fry (Su Su Xào Trứng)
- Món Mặn: Vietnamese Caramelized Pork Belly and Eggs (Thịt Kho Trứng)
- Canh: Vietnamese Tofu Soup with Tomatoes and Chives (Canh Hẹ Đậu Dủ Cà Chua)
How to store or make in advance
The raw pork can be stored in the fridge overnight after it is seasoned. Once the soup is cooked, store it in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week. Reheat single servings of the soup at a time to avoid overcooking the chives and tomatoes.
This dish doesn't freeze well. The texture of the tofu won't be the same after you defrost it.
Top tip
For an extra flavorful broth, use chicken broth instead of water!
Serving size
This soup comfortably serves 6-8 people if served as a side dish and 4 people if served on its own.
📋 Recipe
Vietnamese Tofu Soup with Tomato and Chives (Canh hẹ Đậu Hũ Cà Chua)
Ingredients
- ½ lb ground pork
- ½ shallot minced
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 16 oz soft tofu
- 3 tomatoes
- 1 bunch garlic chives
- 5 cups water or chicken broth
Instructions
- Season the ground pork with salt, pepper, fish sauce, minced shallot and minced garlic. Mix to combine and set aside.
- Wash the chives and then chop the hard, bottom ends of the chives off and discard them. Chop the rest of the chives up into 1-2 inch pieces.
- Drain the soft tofu and slice it into strips, about ½ inch wide and 2 inches long.
- Wash the tomatoes and chop them into 4-8 wedges each, depending on how large the tomatoes are.
- Heat water up in a medium pot until it comes to a boil. Then, add spoonfuls of the ground pork mixture into the hot water. Simmer the pork meatballs until they are floating, about 5 minutes.
- Once the meatballs are floating (which means they're cooked), add the tomato wedges and the soft tofu slices. Stir carefully to evenly mix everything up, but be careful not to crush the tofu.
- Once the today has softened slightly, but is not mushy (it should take 5-7 minutes), add the chopped chives. Stir carefully again to distribute the chives. The soup is ready once the chives have softened slightly (about 30 seconds to a minute).
Notes
Nutrition
Note: Nutrition facts are an estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
Food safety
- Cook pork to a minimum temperature of 145 °F (63 °C)
- Do not use the same utensils on cooked food, that previously touched raw meat
- Wash hands after touching raw meat
- Don't leave food sitting out at room temperature for extended periods
- Never leave cooking food unattended
- Always have good ventilation when using a gas stove
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