VietnamEazy by Trami Nguyen Cron

Author:Trami Nguyen Cron
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780986189883
Publisher: Wellstone Books
Published: 2016-07-06T04:00:00+00:00

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SOUR FISH SOUP

Canh Chua Cá

This soup is distinctive of South Vietnam, where food is abundant. It’s a dish that will take your taste buds on an amazing journey of sweet, sour, salty and oh-so-refreshing.

4-6 Servings

INGREDIENTS:

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

6 minced shallots

2 cloves minced garlic

2 tomatoes, cut into wedges

1 pound catfish fillet (basa fish) or red snapper or shrimp

(Traditionally, we use the whole fish, heads and tails too.)

2 teaspoons fish sauce or 1 teaspoon salt to taste

2 teaspoons sugar

1/2 cup tamarind juice or 2 tablespoons paste with white vinegar or lime.

10 okra, cut into 1-inch pieces

1-2 cups pineapple chunks

3 cans vegetable stock or water

1 cup bean sprouts

2 large celery stalks cut into 1/2 inch diagonal slices

If you want to trek into a Vietnamese/Chinese market to find additional ingredients:

A few sprigs of ngò om (rice paddy herb), chopped

2 large stalks of bạc hà (Vietnamese taro stem: It looks like the elephant ear plant, but it is not! We use this instead of celery as the taste and texture is completely different.)

1 small container of pre-fried shallots as garnish

In a five-quart pot, heat vegetable oil until hot, add 3/4 of minced shallots and all the garlic and sauté on high heat for one minute. Add tomatoes and sauté for two minutes. Add everything except for the celery and bean sprouts into the pot. Fill the stock pot with vegetable stock until all ingredients are covered. Add water if needed. Once the soup boils and the fish/ shrimp is cooked (about fifteen minutes), remove the protein from the pot and set aside until ready to serve.

Add fish sauce and/or salt to taste. Simmer the broth for another ten minutes.

In a separate small pot, heat 1 tablespoon oil to fry the remaining shallots. Taking care not to burn them, fry until golden and crispy. Remove shallots from oil and drain on paper towel.

When ready to serve the soup, heat it to a simmer, add the protein back in along with the bean sprouts. Turn heat to high, and once the soup boils, instantly remove from heat. Serve in a large bowl and garnish with shallots and chopped rice paddy herb. Traditionally, we remove the fish from the soup at the table so it doesn’t overcook in the steaming broth. Serve with steamed rice and hot chili pepper in fish sauce for dipping the morsels of fish.

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