Needless to say, we bought the strange vine-y vegetable and made soup out of it. This soup is one that the boyfriend grew up eating (and I can’t believe he didn’t share with me until now!). It’s made with water and/or clear broth as the base and ground pork, tofu cubes, and the leaves of this vegetable that I’ve since learned is the ivy gourd vine (pak tam leung/ผักตำลึง) as the main ingredients. It’s such a simple soup composed of only a few ingredients, but it tastes so good. That’s really the best kind of food, isn’t it?
If you don’t have access to ivy gourd vines in your area, almost any leafy green vegetable will do. I’ve used Chinese broccoli (gai lan) before with good success and imagine that things like kale or collard greens would be good too. The leaves just need to be hearty enough to withstand a gentle boil. Once you have the greens picked out, it’s a super straightforward soup to make.