Strange and delicious "lightning strike" soup of Thai people in Nghe An
(Baonghean.vn) - “Canh no may pha pha” (Thai - translated as “lightning soup”) is a traditional dish cooked by Thai people in the highland districts of Tuong Duong and Ky Son (Nghe An) from fresh bamboo shoots, often reserved to serve guests. The reason Thai people call this soup “lightning” is because it is cooked very quickly and eaten hot.
At this early winter time, bamboo shoots are one of the secondary forest products that the people of Nghe An highlands collect to sell to earn extra income, and also to process into daily dishes, including soup made from fresh bamboo shoots, which the Thai people call "canh pha pha" (lightning soup).
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| To cook "lightning strike" soup, you must use fresh bamboo shoots; the fresher the bamboo shoots, the sweeter the soup. Photo: Lu Phu |
However, not all types of bamboo shoots can be used to make this soup. The type of bamboo shoots that people often choose to cook is luong bamboo shoots, bamboo shoots, or bamboo shoots. The more mildly spicy the type of bamboo shoots, the sweeter and more delicious the soup will be.
When young bamboo shoots are picked by Thai women from the forest or backyard, they are peeled and washed, then sliced. The smaller the slices, the faster the bamboo shoots lose their pungent taste, and the soup will cook faster. Therefore, people often choose the youngest part of the bamboo shoots to cook the soup.
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| The main spices of the "lightning strike" bamboo shoot soup are hot chili, white salt, MSG, dried fish and dried fish. If dried fish is not available, you can use dried shrimp paste (fish paste, shrimp paste) instead. Photo: Lu Phu |
Normally, bamboo shoots are sliced directly into the pot, then all the important spices and water are added at the same time. The spices include chili, mac khen, white salt, MSG, and indispensable “pa khach” spice (the fish meat is salted by Thai people in bamboo tubes, giang tubes for more than 3 months before being used).
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| The smaller the bamboo shoots are cut into pieces, the sweeter the soup will be and the sooner it will cook. Photo: Lu Phu |
After adding all the spices, the most important step to create the flavor of the "lightning" bamboo shoot soup is to boil the fire. When boiling this soup, the fire must burn continuously, when the pot of soup boils, remove the lid from the pot. From the time the pot of soup starts to boil, about 15 to 20 minutes, the bamboo shoots will no longer have a pungent taste, the soup will be sweet and ripe and can be eaten.
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| "Lightning" soup is often served in family meals and to entertain guests. Photo: Lu Phu |
Lightning soup is the quickest dish to prepare among all the bamboo shoot dishes. In the past, this soup was cooked by people after a hard day’s work or in the fields when the tiring production work was finished.
Nowadays, a hot bowl of "lightning" bamboo shoot soup is still often favored by Thai people in the highlands in their meals and is a delicious dish to treat distinguished guests visiting their home.