Vietnamese Cartilage Porridge Recipe (Cháo Sườn Sụn)

Vietnam is an Asian country, where pork and related ingredients are among the major foods in everyday life cooking. There are many delicious and healthy dishes made from these ingredients, and porridge is among the most common dishes you will see when you come to this Asian country. There are many types of porridge in Vietnam, and almost every ingredient can be used to cook porridge by Vietnamese cooks. Vietnamese cartilage porridge is one of them, and this is a very simple to make dish that everyone can get success right from the first time trying it. There are probably many versions of this dish all over the world because pork and pork cartilage is not a strange ingredient to everyone. We use pork and many related ingredients every day to make several dishes. Pork is very good for health, and especially, the pork cartilage is which people should use to cook daily meals because of many reasons.

Vietnamese Cartilage Porridge Nutritional Values – Why To Make?

Vietnamese cartilage porridge is actually not a very famous dish of this country, but it is really worth a try due to its health and nutritional benefits. As all of us may already know, pork is a widely used ingredient in life and it contains many essential nutrients our body needs every day, such as protein, amino acids, and high quality fats. Besides, it is a high source of thiamin, Selenium, zinc, vitamin B12, vitamin B6, Niacin, phosphorus, and iron. Thus, pork and cartilage is especially good for people after working out, those in the healing process after being injured, especially athletes, patients after surgery, and those trying to build muscle fast. Particularly, cartilage is a very rich source of calcium as it is the “young bone system” of the pig, so consuming cartilage is actually a good recommendation for people of all ages.

Vietnamese Cartilage Porridge – The Recipe

If you are looking for a delicious, easy to swallow (for small kids, elderly people, or sick people), and easy to make with just a few simple ingredients, then you should try this!

Now is time for you to check out the following homemade Vietnamese cartilage porridge recipe:

Ingredients:
Dried rice flour – 100g
Dried glutinous rice flour – 20g
Pork cartilage – 100g
Dried onions – 10g
Scallions – optional
Cooking oil – 1 – 1.5 tablespoon
Salt – depending on your taste
Ground pepper – a pinch
Fish sauce – optional
Chili powder – optional
Thorny coriander – optional

• Tip: How To Choose The Main Ingredient – Cartilage:

In Vietnam, pork and cartilage are often very fresh, meaning that they do not contain preservatives and are not frozen at all. Pork and other related ingredients are sold throughout the day in local markets so that Vietnamese people always have chance to buy very fresh items according to concrete needs. For those living in other countries where pork and related ingredients are just sold in supermarkets in forms of frozen products or sealed products wrapped in plastic bags, they can choose the cartilage or pork meat with the fresh pink color and good elasticity when you press gently on them. For a Vietnamese cartilage porridge recipe, you should choose the cartilage with a little fat to increase the fatty taste of the dish. Avoid old cartilage and the cartilage that almost turns to mature bone because it will be very hard to chop. You should choose very young cartilage with low calcium density.

• How To Cook:

– Wash the cartilage well about 3 times with salt and clean water. Remove excess and dirty fats.

– Wash the scallions and the thorny coriander, cut and discard the roots and the old leaves, set aside and allow them to dry naturally. Chop them finely.

– Remove the peel of the the dried onions and cut them into thin slices.

– Put the cartilage into a pot and pour just enough water to cover the cartilage. Add some salt and turn on the heat. Over high heat, heat the pot until the water is just boiled. Discard the dirty water (you will see some brown scums emerge on the water surface – that is the dirt of the cartilage) and wash the cartilage once again. Pour new water into the pot till half-full. This step will help to clean the cartilage from the inside and you will be able to get clean, fresh broth from the second time adding water and cooking the cartilage.

– Meanwhile, mix the two flours into a bowl and add some water to soak them within a few minutes. Stir well to mix. This step will help you avoid the clotting issue when cooking the porridge.

– Simmer the cartilage with some salt over low heat for about 5 minutes. Take out the cartilage and let it dry.

– Chop the cartilage finely with a big, heavy knife. You can also cut the cartilage into smaller pieces and pour them all into a grinder.

– Cook the flour – broth mixture over low heat until you see a smooth paste with the proper thickness. Stir constantly to avoid clotting. You can also add some water if the porridge gets too thick and stir well. Cook the porridge within about 30 minutes.

– Heat a saucepan over high heat with some cooking oil. Add dried onion slices and stir quickly to avoid burning the dried onion slices. Pour the finely chopped cartilage into the pan and keep stirring. Add some fish sauce (if available) or salt and pepper to taste according to your own taste. Stir for a few minute and remove from heat. You should remember not to stir the cartilage for too long to avoid drying it out. This will make the cartilage lose its natural freshness and nutritional values.

– When the porridge gets the thickness as your desire, remove from heat.

– Pour the porridge into serving-size bowls. Put the stir-fried chopped cartilage on top with finely chopped scallions and thorny coriander. Sprinkle with ground pepper and chili powder and enjoy when it is still very hot.

• Requirements:

– The porridge needs to get proper thickness (not too thin like soup and not too thick like pudding), smell nice and taste fresh. The cartilage needs to be a little bit crunchy and not too dried or fatty (add just enough cooking oil and avoid stirring for too long over high heat), taste fresh and smell fragrant.

Conclusion:

This Vietnamese cartilage porridge recipe just comes with some easy to follow steps that everyone can try without making mistakes. The ingredients it contains are also very available and affordable. The cooking process requires just a short period of time and the dish is suitable for people at every age, from small kids to elderly people. If one day you are tired with fatty and hard food dishes, then Vietnamese cartilage porridge will bring a brand new smooth and sweet kick to your day, giving you a warm embrace as well as better health and feelings. This dish can be served well in the morning as a nutritious breakfast or a midnight light meal for those working or studying late at night.

Thus, try making and enjoying it right from now and feel it yourself!