Vietnamese Sweet and Sour Fish Soup (Canh Chua Ca)

By Vicky Pham · 40 min

Ingredients

Instructions

1. Rinse the fish under cold water, then cut it into 1-inch steaks, leaving the backbone and skin on.
2. Heat the oil in a medium pot. Add the garlic and fry, stirring now and then, until golden brown. Set half the garlic aside for garnish.
3. Carefully add the water to the pot, watching for hot oil spitting. Bring to a medium-low simmer.
4. Add the fish to the simmering water and cook for 10 minutes, until fully cooked. Skim off any scum that rises to the top.
5. Add the fish sauce, sugar, tamarind powder, bouillon powder and salt. If using tamarind pulp, strain it through a small sieve straight into the pot, scraping the pulp from the underside of the sieve, and discard seeds and fibres.
6. Add the tomatoes and okra (or elephant ear stems) and cook for no more than 2 minutes. Turn off the heat.
7. Stir in the bean sprouts; the residual heat will cook them.
8. Top with the fresh herbs, chilli if using, and the reserved fried garlic. Serve with a small dish of fish sauce for dipping and steamed rice.

Summarized from Vicky Pham's video. Watch it for the details.

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