Súp Nui Sườn Heo
Súp Nui Sườn Heo·(soop noo-ee suh-uhn heh-oh)
Ăn Sáng: Vietnamese Morning Rituals
This is the ultimate expression of Vietnamese home cooking, the kind of quiet, deeply comforting bowl you will never find on a restaurant menu. It is the morning ritual a grandmother produces to feed a family before the day begins, built on a pristine, naturally sweet broth coaxed from pork ribs and earthy root vegetables. It is unpretentious, entirely kid-friendly, and relies on simple technique—like an aggressive five-minute parboil of the bones—to achieve a clarity of flavor that tastes exactly like home.
Before you start
Prep the vegetables before starting the broth.
Peel and cut the carrots and daikon, and slice the scallions and cilantro before you begin cooking so the final assembly is seamless.
Ingredients
- pork spare riblets1 1/2 lb
- yellow onion1 small
- ginger1 med
- carrots2 med
- daikon radish1 small
- water10 cup
- kosher salt1 tbsp
- chicken or pork bouillon powder1 tbsp
- rock sugar1 tsp
- high quality fish sauce2 tbsp
- Vietnamese rice macaroni or elbow pasta8 oz
- neutral cooking oil1 tbsp
- scallions2 med
- fresh cilantro1/4 cup
- black pepper1 tsp
- fried shallots2 tbsp
Method
- 01
Parboil the ribs vigorously in salted water to ensure a crystal-clear broth.
Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil, add a heavy pinch of salt, and drop in the pork ribs for 3 to 5 minutes. Drain the ribs into the sink and wash them aggressively under cold running water to scrub away any coagulated blood or impurities, then wash the pot itself.
- 02
Simmer the cleaned ribs with the aromatics to build the foundational soup.
Return the clean ribs to the pot with 10 cups of fresh water, the whole onion, and the smashed ginger. Bring to a boil, immediately reduce to a lazy simmer, skim any residual foam, and stir in the salt, bouillon, and rock sugar, letting it cook for 45 to 50 minutes.
- 03
Remove the spent aromatics and add the root vegetables in the final stretch.
Carefully fish out and discard the onion and ginger, then drop in the carrots and daikon. Simmer for another 15 to 20 minutes until the vegetables are easily pierced with a fork but still hold their structure.
- 04
Boil the macaroni separately with a splash of oil and shock it cold to prevent a mushy ruin.
While the vegetables cook, boil the macaroni in a separate pot with the cooking oil until slightly past al dente. Drain it immediately and run it under cold water to wash away the surface starches, ensuring bouncy, individual noodles.
- 05
Remove the broth from the heat before stirring in the fish sauce.
Turn off the stove entirely and stir in the fish sauce. Never boil fish sauce for a long period, as doing so destroys its delicate aromas and turns the broth unpleasantly sour.
- 06
Assemble the bowls by warming the cold noodles with the boiling broth.
Divide the cooked macaroni among large bowls and distribute the pork ribs, carrots, and daikon over the top. Ladle the steaming hot, clear broth over the pasta to warm it through, then garnish generously with scallions, cilantro, black pepper, and crispy fried shallots.
Notes
Do not skip the parboil.
Boiling the ribs for five minutes and scrubbing them clean is the non-negotiable secret to a pristine, professional-tasting soup. Skipping this leaves the broth cloudy and tasting of impure blood.
Store the broth and noodles separately.
Never store leftover pasta inside the broth. It will act like a sponge overnight, soaking up all the liquid and turning into an unappetizing paste.
The Instant Pot weeknight hack.
After the 5-minute stovetop parboil, transfer the clean ribs, aromatics, and seasonings to an Instant Pot with the water. Cook on High Pressure for 20 minutes, manually release, then use the Saute function to boil the root vegetables for 10 minutes until soft.