Name: Winter Melon and Shrimp Soup (Canh Bàu Tom)
Yield: Serves 4
Cuisine: Vietnamese
Ingredients: 8 cups water; ¼ cup fish sauce; 1 large green winter melon (bau), lightly peeled, cut in half lengthwise, and sliced into ½-inch slices; 1 tablespoon olive oil; 1 scallion, chopped into rings; ½ tablespoon sugar; ⅓ pound fresh shrimp, shells removed and deveined; 1½ tablespoons ground black pepper; ½ tablespoon salt; 3 tablespoons dried shrimp; 3 clove garlic

Preparation info

Serves
4

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

Little Saigon Cookbook

By Ann Le

Published 2011

About

Winter melon is rather bland when cooked alone, but there is nothing quite like its deep, sweet, refreshing flavor in a canh or a stir-fry. It is easily chopped and quickly cooked. There are little whiskers on the skin of the melon, so my family prefers to lightly peel it before cooking.

Ingredients

8 cups water
3 tablespoons dried shrimp
¼ cup <

Method

In a medium stockpot, boil the water with the dried shrimp, fish sauce, and garlic for 15 minutes.
While the water is boiling, pound the fresh shrimp with a mortar and pestle or process in a food processor. Put in a small bowl. Add the salt, pepper, sugar, and olive oil to the bowl. Blend well.
Drop the shrimp paste into the boiling water a few tablespoo