Vietnamese Opo Squash & Pork Meatball Soup (Canh Bầu Thịt Viên)

Vietnamese cuisine offers many types of vegetable soups, called canh, and this version features opo squash with easy-to-make pork meatballs.

Enjoy it on its own to warm up on chilly days, or serve it alongside hot steamed rice as part of a traditional Vietnamese family-style meal (cơm gia đình).

Why You Will Love This Recipe

Unlike bitter melon, this opo squash isn’t traumatizing. It’s mild in flavor…. borderline boring, really. This makes it a favorite among Vietnamese kids.

Instead of adding the ground pork loosely into the soup, we’re shaping it quickly into moist pork meatballs.

This makes the protein more substantial and gives each spoonful a more meaty but soft bite.

What You Will Need

To make Canh Bau Thit Vien, gather the following ingredients:

• Opo squash: Called Trái Bầu in Vietnamese, this is a long, pale green Asian squash. The skin is smooth and should be peeled before cooking. The flesh is white with a firm but slightly soft texture. Young opo has small, soft seeds that you can eat. Mature squash have larger, tougher seeds, so remove them before cooking. This squash can be mistaken for a type of wintermelon (bí đao), which looks similar but has a slight fuzz on the skin. Bi Dao is very neutral in flavor compared to Bau so Bau is my favorite of the two. If you can’t find opo, you can sub with bí đao, zucchini, chayote squash, and even cabbage.
• Ground pork: Ground pork is the most common protein of choice in Vietnamese cuisine but if pork isn’t your thing, try opo soup with shrimp.
• Shallot, garlic and green onions: The aromatics that make everything smell great.
• Neutral oil: We just need a little bit to stir fry the aromatics to get the aroma going. I’m using vegetable oil.
• Seasonings: Ground black pepper, fish sauce, salt, sugar and optional chicken bouillon powder for more umami.

How to Make it

Step 1: Prepare the ingredients

Peel the squash and cut it into thick matchsticks. Peel and finely dice the garlic and shallots. Thinly slice the green onions, keeping the white and green parts separate.

Step 2: Season ground pork

Season the ground pork with the whites of the green onions, half of the shallots and garlic, and half of the seasonings. Mix well and set aside.

Step 3: Toast aromatics and add water

In a medium stockpot, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add remaining half of garlic and shallots, and sauté until fragrant, about 20 seconds.

Carefully pour in the water, watching for any hot oil splattering, and bring the pot to a boil.

Step 4: Add pork meatballs

Using clean hands or two spoons, shape the seasoned pork into small meatballs and drop them into the pot. Cook for about 5 minutes.

Step 5: Add chayote

Add the chayote squash and simmer for about 5 minutes, or until tender. Be careful not to overcook, as chayote can easily fall apart.