Canh Chua Ca — Mekong Sweet & Sour Fish Soup

⏱ 40 min · Serves 4

A bright, tangy Southern Vietnamese soup of flaky fish in a tamarind broth, loaded with pineapple, tomato and crunchy elephant-ear stem, finished with fried garlic and a shower of rice paddy herb. Sour, sweet, savoury and fragrant all at once — and on the table in under 40 minutes.

Per serving: 330 kcal · 29.0g protein · 26.0g carbs · 12.0g fat

Ingredients

• 500g firm white fish (catfish, basa or snapper), cut into 3cm steaks or chunks
• 1 tbsp fish sauce (for marinating)
• 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
• 1.5 litres water or light chicken stock
• 40g seedless tamarind pulp (or 2 tbsp tamarind concentrate)
• 2 tomatoes, cut into wedges
• 200g fresh pineapple, sliced into thin wedges
• 150g elephant-ear stem (bac ha), peeled and sliced diagonally (or celery)
• 100g beansprouts
• 4 okra, sliced diagonally
• 2 tbsp fish sauce
• 1.5 tbsp sugar (palm sugar ideal)
• 1 tsp salt, to taste
• 2 tbsp neutral oil
• 4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• 2 red chillies, sliced
• 1 small handful rice paddy herb (ngo om), chopped
• 1 small handful Thai basil or sawtooth coriander, chopped
• 1 lime, cut into wedges
• Steamed jasmine rice, to serve

Method

1. Toss the fish with 1 tbsp fish sauce and the black pepper; set aside for 15 minutes.
2. Soak the tamarind pulp in 150ml hot water for 10 minutes, mash with a fork, then strain out the solids and keep the liquid.
3. Bring the water or stock to a boil in a large pot. Add the tamarind liquid, 2 tbsp fish sauce, sugar and salt, and simmer 3 minutes.
4. Slide in the fish pieces and pineapple. Simmer gently for 5–6 minutes, skimming any foam, until the fish is just opaque. Do not stir hard or the fish will break.
5. Add the tomatoes, okra and elephant-ear stem and cook 2 minutes — they should stay crisp.
6. Stir through the beansprouts and turn off the heat immediately. Taste and balance: more tamarind for sour, sugar for sweet, fish sauce for salt.
7. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a small pan and fry the sliced garlic over medium heat until pale gold, about 1 minute. Pour garlic and oil over the soup.
8. Scatter over the rice paddy herb, Thai basil and chillies. Serve hot with lime wedges and jasmine rice, with extra fish sauce and chilli on the side for dipping the fish.