This chayotes and pork stew is one of my mom’s home-style canh that she cooks often for the family.   Now I cook it often for my little foodie chef because it’s the only Vietnamese canh that she loves to eat so far.  I serve this with jamine rice, Vietnamese udon noodle, or rice macaroni for my little foodie.  Here is my pictorial recipe completed on three different times I cooked this for my family. 

Total prepping and cooking time: about 60-80 minutes
Cooking size: Family portion – use a 4 or 5 quart pot

Ingredients (for a 4-quart pot)

For the broth
1.5 to 2 lb of pork bones (neck bones or baby back ribs)
1/2 Tbsp kosher salt or pink Himalayan salt
2 Liter of water
1 can of Rico Coco soda
1 Tbsp Viet Huong fish sauce
1 Tbsp sugar or Agave nectar
1/8 tsp black pepper 

Other
1 bunch of scallion
1 cup of cilantro
4 carrots
3 green chayotes
2 russet potatoes
1 Tbsp minced garlic
1 Tbsp oil

1.  Prep the veggies:  Peel and chop the chayotes and carrots the same size.  Peel and cut potatoes in chunky pieces.  Prep cilantro and chop scallions.  I really don’t care how scallions are chopped but my mom always get annoyed if I don’t chop it “the right way”. 

2.  I used pork neck bones or sometime baby back ribs.  

Cooking

3.  In a 5-quart pot, heat up 1 Tbsp of oil, and sizzle in the minced garlic.  Add the bones.  Cook for one minute.  Then pour in the 2-Liter of water.  Season the broth with 1 can of Coco Rico soda, 1 Tbsp fish sauce, 1 Tbsp sugar, 1/2 Tbsp kosher salt, and black pepper to taste.

4.  Cook the bones in the broth for 10 minutes on high or medium-high.  While broth is boiling, discard the scum to make a clear broth. 

5.  Add in the carrots and chayotes.  Cook on steady constant boil for another 10 minutes.  

6.  Add the russet potatoes.  Cook for another 10 minutes or until potatoes are soft. Potatoes cook faster than the carrots and chayotes so you don’t want to put it all together or else the potatoes will be mushy and falls apart while the carrots and chayotes are still firm. 

7.  When the potatoes are soft.  Add in the scallions and cilantro. Turn off stove.
Mom always make us eat jasmine rice with all her homestyle canh.  My little foodie loves to eat it with rice macaroni or with jasmine rice. Enjoy! 

Oh look what bloomed in mama’s garden for the first time! 

Food photography:  Crocheted backdrop is a handmade crochet baby dress I made for her first Christmas.  This dress took me more than 20 hours to complete so of course I gotta show off. =)