Vietnamese Cabbage Roll Soup (Canh Bắp Cải Cuốn Thịt)

1 cup ground pork
4 fresh medium shrimp, peeled, deveined and mashed or ground in a food processor to yield about 1/2 cup
4 tbl minced shallots (about 6 shallots)
3 tbl minced coirander leaves (cilantro)
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground white pepper
1 lb large cabbage leaves, blanched until soft
10 whole spring onion green, blanched until soft, for fastening
6 cups chick or pork stock
2 tbl sliced spring onions to garnish
2 tbl fish sauce, for dipping

Combine the pork, shrimp, shallots and 1/2 of the coriander leaves in a large bowl and mix well, then season with the salt and pepper. Place a heaping tablespoon of the mixture onto a blanched cabbage leaf. Fold one end of the leaf over the mixture, then fold in the sides and roll up tightly. Tie the roll securely with a spring onion green. Repeat with the remaining ingredients to make a total of 10 rolls. Bring the chicken stock to a boil. Add the cabbage rolls and simmer for about 5 minutes until cooked. Remove from the heat. Serve the soup in individual bowls with a sprinkling of spring onion and pepper, as fish sauce as the dip. Note: the cabbage should be blanched in a pot of boiling water, not in the stock, for 3-4 minutes, to soften it for wrapping.

I had to use a toothpick to hold my rolls together and actually used ground turkey by mistake. It still turned out really well. I was intimidated and scared to eat them, not sure how they would taste, but once I took a bite I thought they were really good. I am not a fan of fish sauce, so prefered dipping them in a hoisen or oyster sauce. It was nice to have something a little different for dinner.

From Triệu Thị Chơi and Marcel Isaak