How to Cook Canh Chua Ca ( Sour Fish Soup)

Serves: 6-8

Preparation time: 5 mins

Cooking time: 15 mins

Ingredients needed to make Canh Chua Ca:

• 12 oz catfish fillets, chopped into bite-sized chunks
• 2 plum tomatoes, cored and sliced into wedges
• 1 cup fresh pineapple, peeled and  cubed
• 2 cups mung bean sprouts
• 6 fresh cilantro sprigs, leaves picked and finely chopped
• 8 oz okra, chopped into 1’’ chunks
• 1 small yellow onion, peeled and thinly  sliced
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 ½ tsp sugar
• 1 ½ tbsp Vietnamese fish sauce
• 2 tbsp Asian tamarind concentrate
• 1 tbsp canola oil
• Sea salt to taste

Cooking instructions for Canh Chua Ca:

• Drizzle oil in a 4-quart saucepan and heat it over moderate flame.
• Throw in the onion slices and sauté for about 5 minutes, stirring often, until they soften.
• Sprinkle a dash of salt and sugar, followed by a splash of fish sauce and stir them all together along with the tamarind concentrate until well combined.
• Empty 6 cups of water into it and continue to cook the mixture until it starts boiling.
• Reduce it to a simmer and drop in the pineapple and fish chunks.
• Give them a nice stir to mix well and cook further for about 6 minutes or until the fish is properly cooked and the raw smell disappears.
• Stir in the okra and continue to simmer for another couple of minutes or until it softens yet retains it crispiness.
• Empty the cups of mung bean sprouts into the simmering soup, along with the tomatoes and sprinkle a dash of ground cumin into it.
• Cook briefly for just half a minute or until the sprouts wilts slightly and turn off the heat.
• Ladle the soup into serving bowls and top each serving with chopped cilantro leaves.
• Serve hot alongside steamed rice.

Image credit: Wikimedia Commons