This combo soup's picture reminded me of ramen (like Japanese big ramen bowls) with its different toppings. Also, my boyfriend is picky with his vegetables and this version doesn't have much, which I knew would please His Carnivorousness! I really enjoyed this soup, the broth was like the one of a GOOD wonton soup at the take-out, subtil but refined! I even used leftover broth and boiled some gyoza in it with julienned veggies (gyoza are the Japanese dumplings, I always make a lot and have them in the freezer!). The day I was gonna make this soup, I checked Helen's Recipes' channel on YouTube and this soup was her new video recipe! Her version is different though, but you can still watch it and encourage her, she's so skilled and cute! Here's the link!
Helen says that this soup is made after festivities, when there's a lot of leftovers of different meats. I don't care that it's spring, I still wanted a good, gigantic soup. Here's my really simplified, slightly modified recipe for Combo Soup, taken from the book Vietnamese Street Food (as usual lately!) by the lovely couple of Tracey Lister and Andreas Pohl!
(serves 2-3)
Broth:
-3 shallots, chargrilled on all sides for a total of about 5 minutes, then black spots washed away
-1.5kg pork bones
-1/2tsp salt
-about 3tbsp dried shrimps
-1tsp sugar
-1/2tbsp fish sauce
-1 small chicken breast, with bones if you can
Toppings:
-2 eggs, whisked and cooked into thin omelets, then piled up and thinly sliced the way you like (I like to roll the omelets before slicing, it makes cute spirals)
-2-3 portions of rice vermicelli, cooked
-3-4 cooked shrimps per bowl
-100-150g Cha Lua (Vietnamese ham made with pork and shrimp paste) or ham, thinly julienned*
-2 sliced spring onions
-cilantro or parsley
-fried shallots
-1 lime, cut into wedges
*I used regular ham because I was craving it, sliced it thinly, pan fried it then piled the slices and thinly julienned them. Cooked ham tastes salty, like bacon or bologna! Don't worry, it doesn't really affect the saltiness of the overall soup. Let's start!
Put the pork bones in a pot, cover with water, then bring to a boil, strain the bones and rinse them good. Put back into the cleaned pot, cover with water again, add the salt and bring to a boil again. Lower the heat to simmer, and add the shallots, dried shrimps, sugar and fish sauce, simmer for 2 hours. Throughout the simmering, remove scums and fat often.
After 2 hours, add the chicken breast and continue simmering for 20 minutes. Fish out the breast, let it cool then slice it thinly. Strain the broth, put in a clean pot and bring to a boil.
To assemble, start with a portion of rice vermicelli at the bottom of each bowl, then place the shrimps, Cha Lua or ham and chicken. Top with the herbs, green onions and shallots. Serve with lime wedges on the side!
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