My pork and cabbage soup is a quick and easy low-carb meal that can be made in under 15 minutes. This soup is perfect as a light meal on its own, or served as part of a larger meal, with the added bonus of being very cheap, highly nutritious and low in carbs.
Today’s recipe is something I am very familiar with. In Vietnamese cuisine, dinner with rice will usually involve two to three rice dishes for everyone to share. One of these dishes is usually a “canh”, which is a vegetable-based soup like this pork and cabbage soup. For as long as I can remember, my family would always finish our meal by washing it down with a big bowl of canh. It was just something that was done.

What Goes Into Pork and Cabbage Soup
- Pork mince – can be substituted for other types of mince.
- Vegetables – onion, carrot and wombok.
- Seasoning – salt, pepper, fish sauce.

How to Make Pork and Cabbage Soup (Summary)
- Put water into a pot, add the pork mince and boil.
- Add onion, salt and pepper.
- Next, add the cabbage and carrot.
- Finally, add the fish sauce and check the seasoning.

Tailoring Pork and Cabbage Soup
If you think the soup needs more:
- Carbs – add cooked rice.
- Protein – add scrambled eggs.
- Flavour – use chicken stock instead of water.
Recipe Costing
This table shows how much this recipe will cost if you had to go out and buy everything on the ingredients list (“Shop Price”), as well as the value of ingredients actually used in the recipe (“Recipe Cost”).
We haven’t included optional ingredients or small quantities of salt, pepper or sugar as the cost would be negligible. All prices are in Australian dollars and are based off what was published on Coles Online or Woolworths Online as at time of writing.
Ingredient | Quantity Bought | Shop Price | Recipe Needs | Recipe Cost |
Cabbage | 1 | $4.50 | 1/4 | $1.12 |
Pork Mince | 500 gm pack | $5.50 | 150 gm | $1.65 |
Brown Onion | 1 | $0.44 | 1/2 | $0.22 |
Carrot | 1 | $0.40 | 1 | $0.40 |
Fish Sauce | 300 ml bottle | $3.00 | 1 tbsp | $0.15 |
Spring Onions | 1 bunch | $2.00 | 1 stalk | $0.10 |
Total | $15.84 | $3.64 |

You’ll Also Love…
- Simple Zucchini and Meatball Soup
- Simple Vietnamese Watercress and Pork Soup
- Clear Hot and Sour Soup
- Crispy Roast Pork Belly in Air Fryer
- Quick Roast Chicken and Kale Salad
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Scruff

Simple Pork and Cabbage Soup
Ingredients
- 5 cups boiling water (1.25 L)
- 150 gm pork mince
- 1/2 brown onion, roughly chopped
- 1 pinch salt
- cracked pepper, to taste
- 200 gm cabbage or wombok, finely shredded
- 1 carrot, grated
- 1 tbsp fish sauce or to your taste
- 1 spring onion stalk, finely chopped (optional)
Instructions
- Prep all your ingredients.
- In a medium-sized pot on high heat, add 5 cups of boiling water and bring to a rolling boil.
- Add the mince and allow the boiling water to push the scum to the sides. With a spoon, scoop up the scum as it collects at the sides of the pot and discard.
- Turn the heat down to medium and add the onion, salt and pepper. Let it cook for 2 minutes.
- Add the cabbage and carrot. Let it cook for 5 – 10 minutes depending on high soft you want your cabbage to be.
- Add the fish sauce and adjust according to your taste.
- Ladle into a bowl, garnish with spring onions and serve.
All the best for getting that beach body for summer.
Lol thanks Gaz!