A Recipe for Thai-Style Sour Mustard Green Soup with Pork
Not all Thai soups need to be spicy! This delicious Thai mustard green soup combines sourness and saltiness in a wonderfully warming broth. This comforting recipe is great for colder days during autumn or winter.
Thai Pickled Mustard Greens
The most important ingredient in this soup is Thai pickled mustard greens. These greens are known as pak gat dong (ผักกาดดอง). Pak gat is the Thai term for mustard greens. Dong means pickled or fermented.
The greens have quite a sharp, vinegary, sour taste profile that works really well with this soup. Normally, this vegetable is used as a salad green.
You should be able to find Thai pickled mustard greens relatively easily at any good Asian grocery store. They normally come vacuum-packed to keep their freshness. The Pigeon Brand is the version I always buy, however, Chinese brands are fine.
If you’re really struggling to find these greens in your local Asian store, I found two separate solutions for UK based readers and readers in the United States.
- UK readers can get vacuum-packed Leng Heng pickled greens on Amazon here.
- United States readers can get canned Pigeon Brand mustard greens on Amazon.
Pork Ribs or Pork Belly
This soup is meaty both from the use of a Thai pork stock powder known as rote-dee and from your choice of pork ribs and pork belly. The pork meat gives the broth added flavor while making it more of a substantial meal. I personally prefer using pork ribs because they impart more flavor into the broth.
I guess you could make this mustard green soup recipe a vegetarian one if you wanted by omitting the pork meat and replacing the pork stock with vegetable stock. I haven’t tried that though so please don’t blame me if it tastes bad! 🙂
The only other ingredients you need are garlic, shallots, soy sauce, black pepper, and coriander, which makes this a very simple soup to make.
I’ve added a minor personal touch in the form of dried shiitake mushrooms. I find they add a wonderful earthy flavor to this mustard green soup. Using mushrooms also makes it easier to convert this into a vegetarian recipe because shiitake mushrooms are quite ‘meaty’.
It’s uncommon to eat this soup on its own. You should serve it with freshly steamed jasmine rice.
With that bit of background and context clarified, let’s get onto the actual mustard green soup recipe. Because I dunno about you, but I’m hungry!
If you cook this soup, please share your thoughts on how it tastes below. Regularly check the Thai food blog to get recipes and tips about cooking or eating Thai food. You can also consider my PDF Thai cookbook, which has over 25 recipes for less than the cost of a Thai takeaway.
| Prep Time | 10 minutes |
| Cook Time | 30 minutes |
| Servings | people |
- 300 grams pork ribs on the bone
- 200 grams pickled mustard greens
- 3-4 whole garlic cloves
- 1 tablespoon ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon thin soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 pinch sugar
- 2 tablespoons Thai pork stock powder
- 3-4 whole Thai shallots cut them in half
- 1 handful fresh coriander coarsely chop and include stems
- 2-3 whole dried shiitake mushrooms this is an optional ingredient
Ingredients
| |
- Take the mustard greens out from the packet and chop into coarse chunks. See picture in blog post.
- Fill a large saucepan with around 1 liter of water and add the pork ribs. Bring to the boil.
- When boiling, add the pork stock powder and reduce the heat to a simmer.
- Add the garlic, shallots, mustard greens, sugar, soy sauce, and salt. If you're using mushrooms, add now. Simmer for 15 to 20 minutes.
- After simmering for 15 to 20 minutes, add in your coriander and black pepper. Serve in a large bowl. Serve with steamed jasmine rice.
I lived in Thailand for a few years during my 20s during which time I fell in love with Thai food. Along with my Thai partner, I cook and eat tasty Thai dishes 3 or 4 times per week. I’m here to bring you recipes, Thai food tips, and suggested cookware for making Thai food.