This rice soup is the closing dish for the popular Vietnamese seven-course beef feast, where its primary role is to settle the stomach after six indulgent courses. At that point, I find it hard to enjoy the soup because I’m usually stuffed. But I regularly make this soup for lunch. It is a good way to get sustenance without feeling weighed down.

　　

Ingredients

serves 4 as a light lunch, or 6 with 2 or 3 other dishes

　　1 1/2 tablespoons peeled and finely shredded fresh ginger (page 51)

　　1/4 pound hand-minced beef steak (page 69) or ground beef, preferably chuck

　　Salt

　　8 cups Basic Rice Soup (page 67)

　　2 tablespoons chopped fresh Vietnamese coriander or cilantro leaves

　　1 scallion, green tops only, thinly sliced

　　Black pepper

　　

Step 1

Divide the ginger among the soup bowls or put it in a large serving bowl. Similarly, add the beef, scattering it in small pieces. Don’t mound it or it will cook unevenly. Sprinkle a pinch of salt on top and set the bowl(s) aside.

　　

Step 2

In a saucepan, bring the rice soup almost to a boil over medium heat, stirring frequently to prevent scorching. Ladle it over the beef. Garnish with the Vietnamese coriander, scallion, and pepper and serve immediately. Before eating, stir the beef from the bottom to ensure that it cooks in the hot soup and the flavors are well mixed.

　　Cooks' Note

　　For extra richness, crack an egg into each bowl as you are dividing up the ginger and beef. Break the membrane of the yolk with the tip of a knife to facilitate cooking once the soup is added.

　　Reprinted with permission from Into the Vietnamese Kitchen: Treasured Foodways, Modern Flavors by Andrea Nguyen. Published by Ten Speed Press, an imprint of Penguin Random House. Copyright © 2006.  Photographs by Leigh Beisch. Buy the full book from Amazon or Bookshop.