Venison Vegetable Soup — The Broth That Keeps Burning

Ma got vaccinated on February 8th. Pfizer. First dose. Left arm. I drove her. Linh wanted to come but she was at the hospital (she's a doctor — she was vaccinated weeks ago). So it was me and Ma in the truck, driving to a vaccination site at NRG Park — the same venue where I've competed in BBQ cook-offs. The parking lot where I smoked brisket at 3 AM now had tents and medical workers and a line of elderly Houstonians waiting for a needle. Ma was calm. She's always calm about things that would terrify normal people. She survived an ocean. A needle is nothing. She sat in the chair, rolled up her sleeve, and the nurse — a young woman, maybe twenty-five, who looked like she hadn't slept in a week — administered the shot in three seconds. "That's it?" Ma said. "That's it," the nurse said. "I survived worse," Ma said. "I know you did, ma'am," the nurse said. The observation period: fifteen minutes in a folding chair. Ma sat and looked around at the other elderly people in the waiting area — all of them from the same generation, the generation that survived wars and migrations and decades of hard work and now a pandemic. She didn't know any of them. But she belonged to them. They belonged to each other. The generation that keeps surviving. I sat next to her. She said, "My arm is sore." I said, "That's normal." She said, "I'm hungry." I said, "I'll make you pho." She said, "The twelve-hour kind." I said, "Ma, it's 10 AM." She said, "Start now." I started now. Drove her home. Lit the stove. Roasted the bones. Started the broth at 11 AM. By 11 PM it was done. I brought it to her on Sunday morning and she ate it and said, "This is good, Bao." Good. Not acceptable. Not close. Good. Ma got vaccinated and my pho was good. Two miracles in one week. Second dose in three weeks. The immunity builds. The world opens. The restaurant timeline holds. Spring 2021. The sign is being built. The wall is red. The broth is simmering. The needle has been administered. The fire keeps burning. We're almost there.

Ma said “good” — and if you know Vietnamese mothers, you know that word costs something. The twelve-hour pho is its own ritual, the one I make when the moment demands it, but the patience behind that broth doesn’t have to live only in that pot. This venison vegetable soup is where I put that same slow, deliberate energy on the weeks in between — deep stock, honest vegetables, nothing rushed. It’s not pho, but it carries the same conviction: you start the fire, you tend it, and eventually something worth eating comes out the other end.

Venison Vegetable Soup

Prep Time: 20 min | Cook Time: 1 hr 30 min | Total Time: 1 hr 50 min | Servings: 8

Ingredients

• 2 lbs venison stew meat, cut into 1-inch cubes
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 large yellow onion, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 4 medium carrots, sliced into rounds
• 3 stalks celery, sliced
• 3 medium Yukon Gold potatoes, cubed
• 1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes, undrained
• 6 cups beef broth
• 2 cups water
• 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
• 1 bay leaf
• Salt and black pepper to taste
• 1 cup frozen green beans
• 1 cup frozen corn kernels

Instructions

1. Brown the venison. Heat oil in a large heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Season venison cubes with salt and pepper. Working in batches, sear the meat on all sides until deeply browned, about 3–4 minutes per batch. Transfer browned meat to a plate and set aside.
2. Build the base. In the same pot, reduce heat to medium and add onion and celery. Cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook 1 minute more until fragrant.
3. Deglaze and add liquids. Pour in the beef broth and water, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pot. Add the diced tomatoes with their juices and Worcestershire sauce. Return the browned venison to the pot.
4. Add aromatics and root vegetables. Add thyme, rosemary, bay leaf, carrots, and potatoes. Stir to combine. Bring to a boil over high heat.
5. Simmer low and slow. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes, until the venison is tender and the flavors have melded. Skim any foam or fat from the surface as needed.
6. Add the frozen vegetables. Stir in green beans and corn. Continue simmering uncovered for 15 minutes until vegetables are heated through and tender.
7. Taste and finish. Remove the bay leaf. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper. Ladle into bowls and serve hot.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 285 | Protein: 31g | Fat: 7g | Carbs: 22g | Fiber: 4g | Sodium: 620mg