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Vietnamese Sweet and Sour Soup (Canh Chua)

Print Recipe
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Course Appetizer, Dinner, Main Course, Side Dish
Cuisine Vietnamese
Servings 4

Ingredients
  

  • 2.5 litre water
  • 1 small pineapple, cut into bite sized pieces
  • 1-1 large tomatoes, cut into wedges
  • 700g bean sprouts
  • 200-300g galadium, elephant ear stem (bac ha), sliced diagonally (1cm thick)
  • 100g rice paddy herbs (ngo om), chopped
  • 6 large clean and raw shelled prawns, can use peeled prawns instead

Garnish

  • 6 cloves garlic, minced
  • 3 tbsp neutral oil
  • fresh red chilli, sliced (optional)

Seasoning

  • 120g tamarind paste
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1/4 cup fish sauce
  • 2 tsp msg (optional)
  • 2 tsp salt

Instructions
 

  • Add water, pineapple and tomato the pot and bring to a boil. Meanwhile, add minced garlic and oil to the pan over low heat to create crispy garlic for garnish. This should take 5-7 minutes to get a beautiful golden brown colour (you can make this ahead of time!), drain and set aside.
  • Add your seasoning ingredients to the pot, and adjust the seasoning to your liking! I prefer it more sour than sweet. Add shrimp when soup starts to boil, should take a couple of minutes.
  • Add all vegetables, keep half of the rice paddy herbs for garnish. Taste again and adjust if required. Give it a big stir, and turn off the heat. Serve and garnish with rice paddy herbs, garlic and chilli (optional). This combination is unbeatable, it completes the entire soup!