Canh (Vietnamese clear soup) appears at virtually every Vietnamese home meal — not as a course but as a component drunk throughout the meal from a small bowl alongside rice and dishes. Unlike Western soup, which is typically a course, canh is a seasoning liquid — light, clear, and flavoured only enough to provide contrast to the richness of the other dishes at the table.
A clear broth-based soup cooked quickly (10–15 minutes) from shrimp, pork, or vegetable with complementary vegetables, seasoned with fish sauce, and served alongside rice and other dishes. The lightness is intentional — canh should not compete with the main dishes but provide a liquid counterpoint.
- The broth base is typically water, not stock — canh is intentionally light. The flavour comes from the protein cooked in the soup itself, not from a pre-made stock - Fish sauce is the primary seasoning — added at the end to preserve its volatile character. Over-seasoned canh loses its role as a palate cleanser - Cooking time is short — 10–15 minutes maximum. Canh is not a long-simmered soup; the protein and vegetables should retain their individual character - Temperature at serving: very hot — the heat is part of the experience, contrasting with the room-temperature or cool other dishes at the table - The soup is consumed by sipping directly from the bowl or by adding spoonfuls of broth to rice — the liquid integrates the meal
KOREAN SECOND BATCH (continued) + VIETNAMESE CONTINUATION