Canh Chua Cá (Vietnamese Mekong-Style Sour Fish Soup)

Name: Canh Chua Cá (Vietnamese Mekong-Style Sour Fish Soup)
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 40 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Vietnamese
Ingredients: 450 g firm white fish fillets (catfish, basa, cod); 1 tbsp vegetable oil; 1 piece shallot; 2 clove garlic; 2 medium tomatoes; 1 cup pineapple; 8 piece okra; 2 cup bean sprouts; 1 cup water; 5 cup water; 2 tbsp tamarind paste; 2 tbsp fish sauce; 1 tbsp light brown sugar; 3 tbsp fresh lime juice; 0.5 cup fresh dill (rau thì là or rau ngổ); 2 piece scallions; 1 piece bird's-eye chili; 0.5 tsp salt; 0.25 tsp black pepper

A bright, one-pot Vietnamese sour fish soup—tamarind-flecked broth with tomatoes, pineapple, okra and fresh dill. Fast to assemble, full-flavored, and served with steamed rice for a simple weeknight meal.

AI image

40 min

start to finish

15 min

hands on

Some skill

difficulty

servings

4 servings

Ingredients

Contains fish. Cooking for an allergy? Check the label on every packet you use — brands differ, and we can only tell you what the recipe calls for.

Roughly, per serving

260 kcal27g protein20g carbs11g fat

An estimate, not a lab analysis.

Method

Put 1 cup hot water in a heatproof bowl, stir in the tamarind paste, mash with a spoon and let sit 2 minutes, then press through a fine-mesh sieve into a small bowl to make 1 cup tamarind liquid; discard solids or save for another use.
Pat the fish chunks dry and season lightly with 1/4 teaspoon salt and a few grinds of black pepper.
Heat the vegetable oil in a 4–5 quart (4–5 L) pot over medium heat.
Add sliced shallot and garlic to the pot and sauté, stirring, until fragrant and softened, about 1–2 minutes.
Add tomato wedges and sauté, stirring occasionally, until they begin to soften and release juices, about 2–3 minutes.
Pour in the 5 cups water or broth and the strained tamarind liquid, then stir in fish sauce and brown sugar.
Bring the pot to a gentle boil over medium-high heat.
Add the pineapple chunks, reduce heat so the liquid simmers, and cook 2 minutes to meld flavors.
Gently add the fish chunks in a single layer, spoon some broth over them, and simmer gently (low simmer) until fish is opaque and cooked through, 6–8 minutes depending on thickness.
Keep the simmer gentle so the fish stays tender and the pieces don't break up.
Add the okra to the pot and simmer until just tender, 3–4 minutes.
Stir in the bean sprouts, chopped dill, scallion whites, and sliced chili; simmer 1 minute to warm the herbs but keep their fresh texture.
Taste and adjust seasoning with more fish sauce, a pinch of salt, or a splash of lime juice for brightness.
Ladle the soup into bowls, scatter scallion greens on top, and serve immediately with steamed rice on the side.

Worth knowing

If you don't have tamarind paste, substitute 3 tablespoons fresh lime juice plus 1 tablespoon brown sugar—add at step 11 and adjust to taste.
Use a firm white fish so the fillet holds together while poaching. If using very thick fillets, cut into smaller pieces so they cook quickly.
For a deeper umami note, add 1 teaspoon of fermented shrimp paste (mắm tôm) at step 6—use sparingly and note that it contains shellfish.
Avoid boiling the soup once the fish is in it; a vigorous boil will break the fillets apart.

Make it yours

Cooking without dairy, without an oven, for someone who won't touch chilli, or for six instead of four? Have the recipe rewritten around it — quantities, steps and all.

PescatarianDairy-freeOne pan

More Vietnamese cooking

An original Restaurant Pro recipe — our own composition in the idiom of Vietnamese cooking, not any restaurant's recipe. Written to be pescatarian and dairy-free as listed.