Literally translated this root vegetable means Fat Potato or Fat Yam. There are 2 types, white and purple. Most stores here call it Chinese yam. The flesh is translucent white (or purple) in color and is very soft and slimy. To make the soup the “yam” must first be peeled. Afterwards, a spoon is used to scrape the flesh into a smooth paste. Sound like a lot of work? It’s actually not… the flesh is very soft and easy to scrape… only takes a few mins.

Ingredients:
-1 khoai mở about ½ lb
-1/4 lb each: shrimp prawns, ground pork
-ngò gai, ngò om, lá quế, green onion (sawtooth herb, rice patty herb, thai basil)
-1 green onion
-1 tsp oil
-1 tbs fish sauce
-1 tsp sugar
-salt and pepper to taste
-5-6 cups water

What to Do:
Peel and mince shrimp with pork. Wash and crush onions. Heat oil in a pot, fry onion until fragrant, add shrimp and meat. Add fish sauce and water and wait for the soup base to boil. Meanwhile, wash peel and scrape the khoai mở using a spoon. After most of the yam’s flesh has been scraped, cut whatever is left behind (to small to scrape) into small bite size pieces and add to soup base. Once the soup comes to a boil, skim the surface and stir in the scraped yam flesh. Bring the soup back to a boil, add salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle with chopped herbs and green onions (mentioned above) before serving.

Note:
Due to the starch from the yam, this soup should have a smooth yet thick texture, somewhat like Chinese style soups or congee.

Comments (7)

On 2:18 AM , Anonymous said...

hi thx for linking.

 
On 1:41 AM , FooDcrazEE said...

do u have canh khoai mong

 
On 2:15 AM , Alcuin Bramerton said...

It looks as if it has been eaten before.

 
On 9:29 AM , hoangtam/tt said...

even,
you're welcome

foodcrazee,
yes I'll post it when i get the chance.

alcuin,
huh?

 
On 10:06 AM , Anonymous said...

Hi, I'm happy to find this site. Canh khoai mo is my favorite! Unluckily, I can't identify khoai mo among the various yam at the store even after looking at the linked picture. Anything in particular I should be looking for or I'm doomed to not ever have canh khoai mo?

 
On 9:14 PM , hoangtam/tt said...

it's not like a potato, not like a yam, not like a sweet potato, not like a taro, not like a cassava... (these are the common tubers sold at asian stores)

if the picture doesn't help then your best help would be to ask someone at the store to show you...

 
On 1:09 PM , Anonymous said...

Yay I got it, I found khoai mo! Apparently, all you need to do is going around scratching all the yams on display... The slimy one is khoai mo.