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–+ servings

Canh Chua Sour Tamarind Soup

We love using prawns for this dish but you can use your favorite seafood. Any firm white fish steaks such as catfish, mahi, tuna, would work well.
This recipe requires preparing tamarind pulp. You can either use pre-made concentrate which would be the simplest and quickest. If you want to make your own, see this link. by Leela of shesimmers.com
The key to this dish is to not over cook the veggies, adding them in the order of how long they take to cook.
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Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 50 minutes
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Vietnamese
Keyword: seafood, soup
Servings: 4 servings
Calories: 148kcal

Ingredients

  • 5 cups water or stock
  • 1/2 lb large prawns or catfish steaks
  • 1 tbs fish sauce
  • 1 ts pepper
  • 1 shallot thinly sliced
  • 2 tbs tamarind concentrate
  • 2 tbs vinegar
  • 1 tbs sugar or rough equivalent in rock sugar
  • 1/2 cup sliced pineapples
  • 2 ripe tomatos cut in wedges
  • 1-2 taro stems peeled and sliced on diagonal 1/2in thick
  • 1/2 cup okra sliced diagonal
  • 1/2 cup of bean sprouts
  • 10 springs of rice paddy herb roughly chopped
  • 6 cloves of garlic coarse minced and fried in 4 tbs cooking oil
  • 2 red chilli sliced (optional)

Instructions

  • Coarsely mince garlic and fry till golden brown. Remove from oil and drain on paper towel. Save oil and set aside.
  • Marinade the prawns/fish with the fish sauce and pepper.
  • In large pot, using the oil from the garlic, saute the shallot. If using shrimp skip ahead to next sentence. If using fish steaks, quickly sear in the hot oil, flipping once. Add water/stock and tamarind, vinegar, sugar and bring to boil. Then add tomatoes, pineapple, okra, shrimp.
  • When prawns are cooked and tomatoes are just tender, add bean sprouts and taro stems and season with additional salt or fish salt and sugar to taste. It should be sweet, sour, and savory.
  • Remove from heat finish with rice patty herb, fried garlic and optional chili. If using fish steaks, remove fish and place on clean plate. Season with fish sauce and chili. Serve the plate of fish as a side and serve immediately with white rice.

Nutrition

Calories: 148kcal | Carbohydrates: 22g | Protein: 14g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 143mg | Sodium: 820mg | Potassium: 459mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 16g | Vitamin A: 831IU | Vitamin C: 53mg | Calcium: 129mg | Iron: 2mg
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