Canh chua
A soup from the Mekong Delta built on tamarind sourness and pineapple sweetness — a pairing that sounds odd until you taste it. Two rules govern the recipe. The fish is never stirred: it goes in at the end and is left alone, because stirring shreds it. And the herbs go in off the heat, by the handful, because they, not the broth, carry the aroma.
Your own work in that: 0 min.
- Tamarind 15 min
- Broth 15 min
- Vegetables 8 min
- Fish 8 min
Step by step
0 / 7 doneLoosen the tamarind in hot water
Cover the tamarind pulp with 250 ml of hot water (from the total) for 10 minutes, work it with your fingers and push it through a sieve, discarding the seeds and fibres. Bottled concentrates vary widely in strength and flavour — the block gives a clean, clear sourness that the whole soup rests on.
Ingredients: 60 g tamarind · 1400 ml water · 3 pcs shallots · 3 cloves garlic · 3 tbsp fish sauce · 2 tbsp palm sugar · 2 tbsp oil
Through a sieve — the seeds and fibres stay behind.Soften the shallot and garlic
Fry the chopped shallot with the garlic in the oil for 3 minutes, until fragrant, and pour in the rest of the water. This short step gives the broth a base — many Vietnamese soups begin with softened shallot.
Ingredients: 60 g tamarind · 1400 ml water · 3 pcs shallots · 3 cloves garlic · 3 tbsp fish sauce · 2 tbsp palm sugar · 2 tbsp oil
Bring the broth to a boil and season
Add the tamarind liquid, fish sauce and palm sugar and simmer 15 minutes. Taste: it should be clearly sour, faintly sweet and salty. Those three flavours are what the dish balances on — adjust a spoonful at a time.
Ingredients: 60 g tamarind · 1400 ml water · 3 pcs shallots · 3 cloves garlic · 3 tbsp fish sauce · 2 tbsp palm sugar · 2 tbsp oil
Add the pineapple and tomatoes
Add the pineapple and tomatoes and cook 5 minutes. The pineapple is not eccentric: it gives sweetness and a fruity acidity that softens the edge of the tamarind. Fresh works better than tinned, which often sits in syrup and is sweeter and softer.
Ingredients: 600 g cod · 250 g pineapple · 3 pcs tomatoes · 150 g okra · 150 g mung bean sprouts · 2 pcs chillies
Pineapple and tomato — sweetness against the tamarind.Add the okra and chillies
Add the diagonally sliced okra and the chillies and cook 3 minutes. Briefly: cooked longer, okra releases mucilage that thickens the soup, and canh chua should stay clear and thin.
Ingredients: 600 g cod · 250 g pineapple · 3 pcs tomatoes · 150 g okra · 150 g mung bean sprouts · 2 pcs chillies
Add the fish and leave it alone
Lower the heat, add the fish steaks and cook 6 minutes with the surface barely trembling, without stirring. The fish is done when the flesh parts into flakes under a fork — stirring would shred it.
Ingredients: 600 g cod · 250 g pineapple · 3 pcs tomatoes · 150 g okra · 150 g mung bean sprouts · 2 pcs chillies
No stirring — the fish must stay in pieces.Add sprouts and herbs off the heat
Take the pot off the heat, add the sprouts and whole handfuls of coriander and mint. The sprouts must stay crunchy and the herbs keep their scent — cooked, both lose their point. Scatter with fried shallots and serve with lime — in Vietnam usually with a bowl of rice alongside.
Ingredients: 1 bunch coriander · 15 pcs mint · 3 tbsp fried shallots · 1 pcs lime
Before you start
Bạc hà stems are the original
Classic canh chua contains bạc hà (dọc mùng) — the spongy stalks of giant elephant ear, a relative of taro, which soak up the broth. Asian grocers sometimes stock them frozen. Without them, okra and celery fill a similar textural role.
Which fish
In Vietnam it is most often catfish or snakehead; outside Asia cod, halibut or salmon work well. What matters is that the fish is thick and firm — thin fillets fall apart in the pot.
Eat it straight away
Canh chua does not reheat: the fish falls apart, the sprouts wilt and the herbs blacken. The broth can be made a day ahead and kept in the fridge — fish and vegetables always fresh, in the last ten minutes.
