Pork Ribs Macaroni Soup (Sup Nui Suon Heo)
Lets find the secret to make any homemade soup taste amazing with this flavorful Vietnamese pork ribs macaroni soup (sup nui suon heo) recipe
Servings: 4 people
Ingredients
Soup broth
- 2 lb pork ribs cut into 2x1 inch pieces
- 1 big white onion
- 5 stems cilantro
- ½ tsp black peppercorn
- 4.5 qt water
- 2 medium carrot cut into 2x0.5 inch pieces
- 2 medium daikon cut into 2x0.5 inch pieces
Seasoning
- 1 tbsp fish sauce or 2 tsp Kosher salt
- 1 tbsp chicken bouillon
Crispy fried garlic & shallots
- 5 tbsp garlic minced
- ⅓ c shallot medium sliced
- ¾ c vegetable oil
Others
- 8 quail eggs cooked, peeled, optional
- 2 sprigs green onion chopped
- 2 small Thai chilies minced
- 2 tbsp fish sauce
- 1 small lime cut into wedges
- 1 tsp ground black pepper
- 1 pack rice macaroni or elbow macaroni
Instructions
Make soup broth
- In a medium cooking pot, put pork ribs in the pot and add enough water to cover the ribs completely. After that take the ribs out. Bring water to boil over high heat.2 lb pork ribs
- Then return the ribs to pot and boil for 3 minutes.
- After 3 minutes, carefully drain the ribs into a colander and rinse under cold run water. Make sure the temperature of the ribs cool down to room temperature. Set aside for later use.
- Also, clean the cooking pot, fill with water and return the pot to stove top.4.5 qt water
- Add onion and a sachet of cilantro stems to the pot. Bring to boil over high heat.1 big white onion, 5 stems cilantro, ½ tsp black peppercorn
- When the water is boiling, add clean, room temperature pork ribs to the pot then simmer the ribs over medium high heat or medium heat (this will depend on your stove top).
- Adjust the heat level high enough to simmer the water, not hard boil or the broth will become very cloudy afterward. Skim off any scum that forms on the surface as needed.
- Cook the pork ribs until they are almost tender, approximately 20 minutes.
- Bring the pot back to a boil then immediately add carrots and daikon. Lower the heat back to previous setting just enough to simmer everything. Cook until vegetable and ribs are completely tender approximately 20 to 25 minutes.2 medium carrot, 2 medium daikon
- Continue skimming any scums that forms on the surface. Avoid stirring the pot as much as you can so the macaroni soup broth can stay clear.
- Discard the onion and the sachet.
- In a small mixing bowl, add chicken bouillon and fish sauce (or Kosher salt) together with 1 cup of hot broth from the soup pot. Mix until everything is dissolved completely. Then add this bouillon mixture to the pot together with fried shallot and fried garlic (instructions to follow below).1 tbsp fish sauce, 1 tbsp chicken bouillon
- Adjust seasoning with extra Kosher salt only, if necessary.
Make crispy fried garlic
- Set up a sieve over a small mixing bowl and a medium plate lined with paper towel in advance.
- In a small sauce pan, heat together minced garlic and oil over medium heat.5 tbsp garlic, ¾ c vegetable oil
- Cook the garlic in the oil (around 275F) for 3 minutes, stir occasionally with a spatula or a chopstick. Then increase the heat to medium high setting and cook for 1 minute or until the garlic starts changing color to light golden brown. Watching carefully so the garlic don't burn.
- Immediately pour the oil and garlic through the sieve to stop the carry over cooking process.
- Then carefully transfer fried garlic to a paper towel line plate to cool down.
- Reserve the oil for frying shallot later.
- Set crispy fried garlic aside for later use in pork ribs macaroni soup.
Make crispy fried shallots
- Set up a sieve over a small mixing bowl and a medium plate lined with paper towel in advance.
- In a small sauce pan, heat together oil over medium heat. When the oil reaches around 275F. Add the shallot and cook, stir occasionally until shallots become light golden brown.⅓ c shallot
- Immediately pour the oil and shallots through the sieve to stop the carry over cooking process.
- Then carefully transfer fried garlic to a paper towel line plate to cool down.
- Reserve the oil for frying shallot later.
- Set crispy fried garlic aside for later use in pork ribs macaroni soup.
Cook macaroni
- Cook macaroni following the instructions on the package.1 pack rice macaroni
Assemble
- Divide the macaroni evenly among 4 large soup bowls. Top each bowl with chopped green onion. Then ladle the hot soup over the top together with few pieces of pork ribs, carrots, and daikon. Finally, sprinkle with fried shallots, fried garlic and ground black pepper.2 sprigs green onion
- Served hot immediately with a side of fish sauce-lime dipping sauce.2 small Thai chilies, 2 tbsp fish sauce, 1 small lime, 1 tsp ground black pepper, 8 quail eggs
Notes
Substitution
- You can also use elbow or penne if rice macaroni is not available to you.
- I use this Korean chicken bouillon, it tastes really good and does not make the soup become cloudy like other bouillon.
- Substitution: you can still use Knorr bouillon for this soup. But keep in mind the broth might be a little less clear compared to using the Korean brand.
- If fish sauce (a bottle of this goodness) is not available you can use Kosher salt instead.
Storing
- Crispy fried garlic can be kept in an air tight container, in a cool, dry place, and away from direct sunlight for up to 1 month.
- Crispy fried shallots can be kept in an air tight container, in a cool, dry place, and away from direct sunlight for up to 1-2 weeks.
- The macaroni soup broth can be kept at room temperature for 1 day. Or keep in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.