Egyptian Spinach Soup / Canh Rau Đay

Like many kids, I didn’t grow up enjoying most vegetables, but the one I could eat without fail was my mom’s canh rau đay, or Egyptian spinach soup. The veggie also goes by the names of Vietnamese Moringa Leaves, Jute Leaves, or Molochia. Whatever you call it, I call it delicious.

This isn’t a dish you would ever find at a Vietnamese restaurant; this is purely a Vietnamese home-cooked staple. It pairs perfectly with any of our braised dishes like thịt kho tiêu (braised black pepper pork belly) or gà kho gừng (ginger braised chicken), and really completes the whole dinner.

What makes this soup unique is its texture and viscosity. Massing the leaves before adding them to the soup gives it a, for lack of a better term, saliva or mucus-like consistency and is similar to what you would find in okra or aloe vera. Now I will say, though, that Hanna absolutely hates it when I describe it as such, but think about it as nature’s cornstarch slurry.

This soup is dedicated to all the Millennials and Gen-Z’ers who don’t live with their parents anymore and miss their home-cooked meals. Every time I have it, I’m instantly teleported back to my childhood in my mom’s kitchen.