Supo Kapisi (Sāmoan Watercress and Pork-Bone Soup)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Heavy 6- to 7-quart stockpot or Dutch oven
• •Fine skimmer or wide spoon for clearing the broth
• •Large colander or salad spinner for washing watercress

Instructions

1. 1

   Clear the bones

   Rinse the pork bones under cold water and set them in a heavy pot with the 10 cups cold water. Bring it up slowly over medium-high heat, then lower to a lively simmer and skim the grey foam that rises for the first 10 minutes. That's just the broth clearing itself. No need fuss, but don't stir that foam back in.

   For an extra clean broth, cover the bones with water, boil 5 minutes, drain, rinse the pot, then start again with fresh cold water. Do it when you have time. Skip it when you need dinner moving.
2. 2

   Simmer the broth

   Add the onion, garlic, ginger, salt, pepper, and bouillon if you're using it. Keep the pot partly covered at a gentle simmer for 1 hour 15 minutes to 1 hour 30 minutes, adding a splash more water if the bones start sitting high. The meat should loosen from the bone, and the broth should smell round, porky, and ginger-warm.

   If you use bouillon, start lighter on the salt and finish the seasoning at the end. Plenty aunties use a cube on a weeknight. Keeper, not gatekeeper.
3. 3

   Wash the kapisi

   While the pot works, pick through the kapisi, the watercress. Trim away only the woody lower stems and keep the tender stems, because they give the soup its peppery bite. Wash it in two or three changes of water, lifting the greens out each time so the grit stays behind.

4. 4

   Add tomato and greens

   Stir in the tomatoes and simmer 10 minutes, until they slump into the broth. Taste now. It should be savory before the greens go in. Add the watercress by big handfuls, pressing it under the broth, and simmer 5 to 8 minutes, until the leaves turn dark and glossy and the tender stems bend without snapping.

   If your watercress is mature and stem-heavy, add the tender stems first for 2 minutes, then the leaves. Don't beat the green to mud. Let it wilt, let it soften, then stop.
5. 5

   Rest and serve

   Turn off the heat and let the pot sit 10 minutes so the broth settles and the pork relaxes. Taste again for salt and pepper. Ladle bones, meat, greens, and broth into deep bowls, and serve with rice or with talo, faʻi, or ʻulu. Spoon the broth over the starch. This is building-up food: simple, salty, ginger-warm, enough for one more.

Chef Tips

• •Sourcing first, always. Buy watercress from clean growers or a market you trust. Wild watercress from water near livestock can carry liver fluke or bacteria, so if you don't know the water, don't use it raw and don't half-cook it.
• •Meaty neck bones make the best bowl because they give broth, fat, and little tender bites all at once. Rib bones are cleaner. Hock pieces make it richer. Use what your butcher has.
• •The soup should taste savory before the kapisi goes in. Greens drink salt, and pork bones can be shy until the end, so finish the seasoning after the watercress wilts.
• •If watercress isn't in the market, eat what you have, but name it straight. Choy sum or spinach will make a good pork green soup. It won't be supo kapisi until the kapisi is back.
• •This soup is home food, not a ceremony. If you're serving it inside a toʻonaʻi (Sunday family meal) or a larger Sāmoan gathering, sit with a Sāmoan matai (chief) or auntie for the order, language, and deep parts. They should tell their own story.

Advance Preparation

• •Simmer the pork-bone broth 1 day ahead, chill it, then lift off any firm fat before reheating. Add the tomatoes and watercress only when you're ready to eat.
• •Wash and trim the watercress up to 1 day ahead. Wrap it in a clean towel and refrigerate so it stays crisp.
• •Leftovers keep 3 days in the fridge. The greens darken and soften, still good. Add a fresh handful of watercress when reheating if you want the bowl brighter.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 590g)