Reason #2 + The process of canh bí đỏ (pumpkin broth soup)

Anytime, anywhere.Why I love Vietnam!
Reason #2

Anytime, anywhere you can find people singing with no shame in the form of Karaoke. (As the Vietnamese say: KA RA OKAY!) You would think that the prevalence of "saving face" would serve as a deterrent to really bad singing but no, it does not. I've actually grown quite fond of it. The way that a mother grows fond of her baby's never ending crying and tantrums. No special event is needed. Unexpected and unpredictable, Karaoke surfaces in the morning, on a Wednesday late afternoon, and even when there's a wild party at 7:15 pm at night.

I'm trying really hard to share my abroad experiences through stories, photos and video clips. Hopefully I can post everyday. Enjoy!

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The process of canh bí đỏ (pumpkin broth soup)

I fucking love soup. My friend Linh says I make good soup. Here, I've learned that soup is not easy to make. It requires patience, knowing the right amount to put in without measuring cups and the correct order of putting things in. In America, I never quite understood how to make soup. Unfortunately my mom's attempts of teaching me were not exactly conducive to soup making.

While mom is cooking soup
Come here and learn how to do something.
How do you know how much to put in?
I just know.
Yeah but how do you know? Like one teaspoon or what? I don't get it.
You just know.
Okay...
I attempt to "help"
Stop that, oh just get out the kitchen.
But...
You're going to burn the house down.

That was the extent of my soup lessons. I mean teaching soup lessons to a kid is like reading Moby Dick to a toddler. We just got no patience.

However, after a few attempts and learning from fabulous cooks, I now know how to cook soup.

Step 1: REALLY IMPORTANT. Turn on stove to boil water.

Step 2: Get tools ready. That is a certain kind of pumpkin - I don't know it's name. Don't use the pumpkin that you find on Halloween. You will not be happy.

Step 3: Use tools and peel that shit. I hate this part. (Hey Kim how did you take that picture if you live by yourself? Tuck it into my chin.)

Step 4: Scoop mushy insides out. (Martha Steward would be proud of my instructions).

Step 5: Try to cut into evenly divided pieces.

Secret Step 6: Heat up the garlic first to let it sizzle and smell good. My mom may beg to differ, since this actually burns the garlic but I enjoy burnt things.

Secret Step 7: Cook the pumpkin! Yes! You don't throw it in the soup, doing so will cause the pumpkin to disintegrate into stringy pieces. Stir frying it first keeps it together.

Step 8: Viola.

Step 9: Water should be boiling by now.

Secret step 10: Dried shrimp. This is like Vietnam's quick fix, sort of like Prego spaghetti sauce. Instead of stewing over the stove waiting for your beef to cook, just throw these suckers in and your soup is savory and fishy smelling.

Step 11: Throw everything in. Marinate with salt, sugar, and stock according to your tastes.

Step 12: YAY! Add cilantro, green onion, and pepper. Makes it look prettier and taste better!

I almost fell asleep writing this blog post. I thought for some reason soup would be mildly entertaining. I suppose I can tell you why I really like this soup. I live with this amazing staff member named Thao whose an artist and lived in Hungary for 15 years whose story telling skills have people lying on the floor laughing or captivated in still silence. She cooks me this soup. When she's out on field visits, I attempt to cook the things that she cooks but can never quite match up in wholesome goodness. Also a trafficking returnee showed me some of the "secrets" to this soup such as stir frying the pumpkin before I throw it in the water. I use the word "secrets" but it's probably my dumb ass not knowing very basic Vietnamese soup 101.

Now that I am about to leave Vietnam, I not only have awesome soup recipe's up my sleeve, but also have ever lasting memories that come with it. And that's why I fucking love soup.