Name: Beef and Amaranth Stem Soup (Canh Rau Dền Nấu Thịt Bò)
Yield: Serves 4-6 as part of a Shared Meal
Cuisine: Vietnam
Ingredients: 1 teaspoon sugar; fish sauce, for dipping; 1 bunch amaranth, washed and torn into 4 cm (1½ inch) pieces; 2 tablespoons vegetable oil; 2 tablespoons fish sauce; 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped; 2 tablespoons sliced spring onion (scallion), white part only; 350 g (12 oz) beef eye fillet, trimmed and thinly sliced; 1 small handful coriander (cilantro) leaves; 1 bird’s eye chilli, thinly sliced; 100 g (3½ oz) silken tofu, cut into 1 cm (½ inch) cubes

Preparation info

Serves
4-6
as part of a Shared Meal

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

The Songs of Sapa

By Luke Nguyen

Published 2009

About

IF YOU WANT TO FIND AMARANTH STEMS AT YOUR LOCAL MARKET, YOU SHOULD KNOW THAT THEY ARE ALSO KNOWN AS CHINESE SPINACH, AFRICAN SPINACH OR INDIAN SPINACH - THE VIETNAMESE DON’T CLAIM IT TO BE THEIRS. THERE ARE MANY VARIETIES OF AMARANTH, BUT GO FOR THE THICK-STEMMED ONES WITH RED AND GREEN LEAVES. THE STEMS TASTE SIMILAR TO ARTICHOKE, WHILE THE LEAVES TASTE LIKE SPINACH.