What's good my fellow flavor nerds! I'm bringing you a dish that hits all the right notes—a Vietnamese style Greens and Shrimp soup aka Canh rau den. We’re talkin’ deep, rich flavors, the kind that slow-simmer and groove right into your soul.
Shrimp and collards, what's not to love?! This dish is a bold flavor packed experience, where leafy greens give it kind of a Southern vibe to the Vietnamese essence.
What is Canh Rau Den?
Now, let’s take a quick detour to Vietnam, where Canh Rau Den is a traditional greens and shrimp soup. It’s light, briny, and usually pretty rich if you include pork bones that for my money makes it kind of a distant relative to Southern collard greens or soul food briney pork neck bones. But obviously I've taken some liberties by adding yuca and collard greens.
The common thread? That deep, layered complexity that comes from simmering greens (usually amaranth leaves) with seafood and aromatics. Much like jazz and hip-hop, the flavors of Southern and Vietnamese fusion cooking intertwine beautifully, proving that good food knows no borders.
Beats and Eats (music to pair with this hearty soup)
Roy Ayers is all about a vibe, and "Red, Black, and Green" is a groove that builds slow and steady, layering on rhythm, melody, and soul. It starts deep, builds intensity, and leaves you with something rich and unforgettable.
The brine in this recipe acts like the bassline—bold and grounding. The pickled vegetables are the high notes, cutting through with brightness, much like Ayers’ signature vibraphone. It’s a dish you don’t just eat; you feel it, just like a classic Roy Ayers track.
Key Ingredients and Their Flavor Roles
- Shrimp – Adds a briny, umami depth that complements the other ingredients.
- Collard Greens – are substituted for amaranth leaves in this version. Earthy and robust, they balance out the richness and soak up all that flavorful broth. Spinach, kale, mustard greens, and turnip greens can all be used as substitutes
- Ginger – Bright and spicy, it adds warmth and complexity to the dish.
- Garlic Cloves – Aromatic and bold, it infuses every bite with deep, soulful flavor.
- Fish Sauce (the secret weapon)- brings a deep umami flavor richness that enhances the broth and balances the greens and shrimp. Its salty, slightly funky, and subtly sweet notes add depth, rounding out the natural bitterness of the greens while amplifying the savory essence of the shrimp. Just a splash transforms the soup, making each spoonful more complex, layered, and irresistible.
- Yuca - Starchy tuber similar to potato that adds some heft to this dish
- Pork bones (optional) - the inclusion of pork in a greens dish made me think about my favorite soul food dish - collard greens with smoked pork.
How To Make Delicious Soup
This is an easy soup to make but nets an absurd amount of flavor.
Heat a large saucepan or pot of water (chicken stock and be substituted for more flavor) over medium heat. Add salt and chopped yuca. Bring to a boil and simmer 15 minutes.
Add fish sauce, mix in well and let cook another 3 minutes or so. You're basically biding time as you build flavor.
Add the collard greens cooking for another 5 minutes. The key with the greens is cut them thinly into strips in what we call chiffonade style. Chiffonade is just fancy for thin strips. I made a simple collard greens chiffonade recipe a while back that you can check out to see how to cut collard greens this way for this soup recipe. Anyway thinly cut greens cook much faster than larger leafs so this is the cheat code to cooking greens fast.
You can also just use bagged greens for convenience. They are generally pre-cut into smaller pieces.
Add the sliced shallots, garlic, ginger, and freshly ground black pepper. Mix in well and let simmer another 5 minutes.
Add the shrimp then cover with lid. Note I like to leave the shrimp tails on, but also butterfly the shrimp. To butterfly just slice a deep cut down the spine of each shrimp and then spread the sides so they fan out.
Shrimp cooks quickly so 2-3 minutes is sufficient. Any longer and the shrimp will become overcooked and chewy.
Remove the pot off heat and let rest uncovered for 5-10 minutes. Flavors will continue to come together and balance out in a very good way. Serve with your favorite rice dish. I like a simple coconut rice. It wouldn't be a proper dish in my house without my grandmother's hot water cornbread.
Tips & Considerations for Enhancing Flavor
- Simmer Low & Slow: Time is always a good thing when building flavor chemistry. Low heat is needed when you have more delicate ingredients like ginger, shrimp, garlic.
- Knife Sklills: Pay attention to your cutting techniques. Smaller and thinner cut greens allow for faster cooking time and better chewing experience. Butterflying the shrimp creates more surface area for the shrimp to absorb those incredible flavor combinations
- Use Shell-On Shrimp: If possible, cook the shrimp with the shells on for extra depth in the broth. At minimum leave the tails on.
Make This Vietnamese Spinach Soup Recipe
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Ingredients
- 12 Jumbo Shrimp butterflied
- 1 ½ pounds Collard Greens chopped
- 2 medium Shallots sliced
- Fresh Ginger grated
- 4 Garlic Cloves minced
- 2 tablespoon Fish Sauce
- 1 medium Yuca peeled and chopped into small pieces
- 1 teaspoon Ground Black Pepper
- 1 teaspoon Kosher or Sea Salt
- 3-4 cups Water or chicken stock
Instructions
- Heat a large saucepan or pot of water (chicken stock and be substituted for more flavor) over medium heat. Add salt and chopped yuca. Bring to a boil and simmer 15 minutes.
- Add fish sauce, mix in well and let cook another 3 minutes or so. You're basically biding time as you build flavor.
- Add the collard greens cooking for another 5 minutes.
- Add the sliced shallots, garlic, ginger, salt and freshly ground black pepper. Mix in well and let simmer another 5 minutes.
- Add the shrimp then cover with lid. Note I like to leave the shrimp tails on, but also butterfly the shrimp. To butterfly just slice a deep cut down the spine of each shrimp and then spread the sides so they fan out.
- Shrimp cooks quickly so 2-3 minutes is sufficient. Any longer and the shrimp will become overcooked and chewy.
- Remove the pot off heat and let rest uncovered for 5-10 minutes. Flavors will continue to come together and balance out in a very good way.
Notes
- Simmer Low & Slow: Time is always a good thing when building flavor chemistry. Low heat is needed when you have more delicate ingredients like ginger, shrimp, garlic.
- Knife Sklills: Pay attention to your cutting techniques. Smaller and thinner cut greens allow for faster cooking time and better chewing experience. Butterflying the shrimp creates more surface area for the shrimp to absorb those incredible flavor combinations
- Use Shell-On Shrimp: If possible, cook the shrimp with the shells on for extra depth in the broth. At minimum leave the tails on.