Vietnamese Tofu and Garlic Chive Soup with Ground Pork (Canh Dau Hu He Nau Thit Bam)

A vegetable soup is an absolute must in traditional Vietnamese home cooking when served with rice (cơm gia đình). And you won’t usually find these soups in restaurants here in the West.

As I’ve gotten older, I understand why my parents would complain whenever I skipped making soup for family meals. It not only makes the meal feel complete, but it also helps ease digestion when there is something warm and brothy to sip on.

Canh Đậu Hũ Hẹ is a classic examples of one of these amazing and delicious Vietnamese vegetable soups.

What is Canh Dau Hu He?

In Vietnamese, canh means soup, đậu hũ means tofu, and hẹ means garlic chives. Since I’m using ground pork as my protein of choice, the full name for this variation is canh đậu hũ hẹ thịt băm.

This particular soup is made with chicken stock, tofu, garlic chives, and ground pork. It takes no more than 15 minutes from start to finish because it uses store-bought chicken stock for a quick and easy side dish.

What You Will Need

• Tofu (Dau Hu): You can use any type of tofu, ranging from firm to soft and silken. Firmer tofu is easier to work with because it holds its shape well, but soft tofu provides a wonderfully silky texture.
• Garlic Chives (He): You can easily find these at most Asian grocery stores. They are sometimes sold with mature white blossoms attached, but we only need the green stems for this recipe.
• Ground Pork (Thit Bam): This is our protein of choice, but you can substitute it with other options like ground chicken, ground turkey, minced shrimp, or even ground beef. We are simply adding these loosely to the soup. Alternatively, you can roll them into small meatballs for a more beautiful presentation.
• Chicken Stock: Provides a quick, rich flavor base so you don’t have to make your own bone broth from scratch, keeping this recipe simple.
• Aromatics: Fresh garlic and shallots are fried at the beginning to build an aromatic flavor foundation.
• Seasonings: A traditional blend of fish sauce (nuoc mam), chicken bouillon powder (hat nem), a touch of sugar for balance, salt, and black pepper.
• MSG (bot ngot): Optional but a bit of MSG provides that signature umami goodness that many Vietnamese dishes are known for.

FAQs

Can I make Canh Đậu Hũ Hẹ vegetarian?

Yes you can. To make a vegan/vegetarian version, substitute the chicken stock with vegetable broth.

You can add fresh shiitake or straw mushrooms to replace the ground pork protein.

Swap the fish sauce for vegan fish sauce or omit entirely. And instead of chicken bouillon powder, use mushroom seasoning powder.

What is the difference between garlic chives and green onions?

Garlic chives have flat leaves and a strong garlic aroma and taste. Green onions (scallions) have hollow, tubular leaves and a milder onion flavor.

Although not traditional, I do find myself substituting green onions for garlic chives when I don’t have them on hand.

Using what you have is my mantra for a good home cook!

Do I need chicken bouillon powder if I’m already using liquid chicken stock?

In Vietnamese cooking, chicken bouillon powder is commonly used as an all-purpose seasoning with a light chicken fat flavor.

Chicken bouillon is more commonly used in the West, while in Vietnam, pork bouillon powder is more often used.

Think of it as the Vietnamese and Southeast Asian version of seasoned salt. And yes, you can omit it, but it won’t taste like our mothers’ cooking.

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