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Vietnamese recipe

Canh chua cá — sweet-sour fish soup

A light tamarind fish soup with pineapple, tomato, okra and bean sprouts, finished with fragrant herbs and golden garlic.

Vietnam

Prep
20 min
Cook
30 min
Total
50 min
Servings
4
Sweet-sour fish soup with pineapple, tomatoes, okra and herbs
Real finished-dish photographPhotograph by Phương Huy ( thảo luận )Source page · Original file · Public domainCropped, resized, and compressed by Recipe Nest Vault.

01

Ingredients

  • 600 g

    catfish or basa steaks, 3 cm thick

  • 40 g

    seedless tamarind pulp

  • 1.5 L

    water, divided 200 ml and 1.3 L

  • 200 g

    pineapple, 2 cm pieces

  • 250 g

    tomatoes, cut into wedges

  • 150 g

    okra, halved diagonally

  • 100 g

    edible bạc hà stems, peeled and cut 3 cm; food-market produce only

  • 1 L

    extra water for blanching the edible stems

  • 100 g

    mung bean sprouts, rinsed

  • 35 ml

    fish sauce

  • 25 g

    sugar

  • 15 g

    garlic, minced

  • 20 ml

    neutral oil

  • 15 g

    rice paddy herb and sawtooth coriander, chopped

  • 5 g

    red chile, sliced

02

Method

  1. 01

    Extract the tamarind

    Soak tamarind in 200 ml hot water for 10 minutes. Mash with a spoon and strain, pressing the pulp; discard fibres. Reserve all the strained liquid.

    Canh chua cá — sweet-sour fish soup, step 1: Extract the tamarind.
    Cooking-step illustration, not a photograph
  2. 02

    Prepare the vegetables and fish

    Dry fish and remove loose bones. Prepare pineapple, tomatoes and okra as listed. Blanch peeled edible bạc hà stems in 1 L boiling water for 5 minutes and drain; keep sprouts and herbs separate.

    Canh chua cá — sweet-sour fish soup, step 2: Prepare the vegetables and fish.
    Cooking-step illustration, not a photograph
  3. 03

    Make golden garlic oil

    Heat oil and garlic together in a small pan over medium-low heat for 2–3 minutes. When pale gold, transfer both garlic and oil to a heatproof bowl before the garlic darkens.

    Canh chua cá — sweet-sour fish soup, step 3: Make golden garlic oil.
    Cooking-step illustration, not a photograph
  4. 04

    Build the sweet-sour broth

    Bring 1.3 L water, pineapple, tamarind liquid, fish sauce and sugar to a boil. Lower to a gentle simmer for 5 minutes, then add the fish in one layer and cook 6 minutes.

    Canh chua cá — sweet-sour fish soup, step 4: Build the sweet-sour broth.
    Cooking-step illustration, not a photograph
  5. 05

    Cook the vegetables without breaking the fish

    Add tomatoes, okra and blanched edible stems; simmer 5 minutes. Add sprouts for the final 2 minutes. Probe the fish at its thickest point for 63°C and lift gently if rearranging.

    Canh chua cá — sweet-sour fish soup, step 5: Cook the vegetables without breaking the fish.
    Cooking-step illustration, not a photograph
  6. 06

    Finish with herbs and garlic

    Turn off the heat. Add chopped herbs and chile, then spoon over golden garlic and its oil. Serve immediately, dividing fish and vegetables evenly among four bowls.

    Canh chua cá — sweet-sour fish soup, step 6: Finish with herbs and garlic.
    Cooking-step illustration, not a photograph

03

Sources and photo credit

This standardized method was independently rewritten after cross-checking the references below. Recipe Nest Vault does not claim that the credited photographer cooked from this exact version.

Recipe references

Canh chua cá lóc ở Thủy Trúc Quán, đường Nguyễn Nhữ Lãm (3) — Photograph by Phương Huy ( thảo luận ); Public domain.

Step illustrations: Original illustrations created by Recipe Nest Vault with OpenAI image_gen.

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