Canh Khoai Mỡ Tôm (Vietnamese Purple Yam Soup)

Canh Khoai Mỡ is an amazing, creamy, and comforting vietnamese soup made with yampi root also known as purple yam. This starchy and kinda slimy root vegetable makes the soup super delicious when cooked down and thickened and you can still taste bits of tender Khoai Mỡ in every bite. The herbaceous chopped rice paddy herbs (ngo om) also gives this canh its distinct taste, So good! AND look at that purple color. I love colorful food and the purple soup is so unique!

If you haven’t tried Canh Khoai Mỡ you need to check it out. I ate this a lot growing up and love making it for my girls when I get the chance because they love it as well. Canh Khoai Mỡ goes so well with fried salted fish or any of your favorite Vietnamese savory dishes.

You can check out the IG Reel for this cook here.

Ingredients:
4 cups of water
4 cups of chicken broth
3 pounds Khoai Mỡ, purple yam
1 pound shrimp
1 tablespoon fish sauce
1 teaspoon salt, more to taste
1 teaspoon sugar
2 garlic cloves, finely minced
4 green onions, finely chopped
2 tablespoons cooking oil
1 bunch rice paddy herbs, for garnish
1 teaspoon Fried shallots, for garnish
½ teaspoon black pepper, for garnish

Steps:

Ground shrimp – Aggressively chop shrimp and white part of green onions finely with a cleaver or a large chef knife on a cutting board until the shrimp turns into a sticky paste. Add fish sauce, 1 teaspoon black pepper, and 1/2 teaspoon sugar to the shrimp paste and mix well. Set aside.

Make Canh – In a medium stockpot, stir fry ground shrimp over medium heat in a little oil until pink. Add water and bring to a boil. Add khoai mỡ, 1 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon sugar, and simmer for 15 minutes or until tender. Add chopped rice paddy herbs, and 1/2 teaspoon of pepper. Adjust seasoning of the canh to taste.

Tips:

• Fresh khoai mỡ can be hard to find. You can find pre-packaged khoai mỡ in the frozen section of the local asian grocery store.
• Adjust water content to desired consistency.
• If you don’t have chicken broth, use chicken bouillon.