Vietnamese Sour Fish Soup (Canh Chua Ca)

 I firstly had this Vietnamese dish in one of the restaurants in Footscray, Melbourne. I love the taste of pineapple and tamarind in the soup. I tried the recipe from "Wandering Chopsticks" cooking blog and it is very authentic. Just make sure that you have to go to Vietnamese grocery store to buy all the herbs before you cook this dish. I usually go to Marrickville and can easily find everything there.



I have had so many funny experiences when I tried to ask for some herbs in Vietnamese language and the shopkeepers looked blankly at my face. Thu just couldn't stop laughing at my 'go' for Vietnamese!

Ingredients:

• 1 medium-sized barramudi fish (cut into 4-5 pieces)

• 3 pieces of celery stems or bac ha (sliced on the diagonal)

• 3 stalks lemongrass (bruised and cut to several pieces)

• 2 tomatoes (cut into medium-sized pieces)

• 1 handful of bean sprouts

• 1 can of pineapple slices (drain)

• 10 okra pods (cut each into 3 pieces)

• 1 clove garlic (crushed)

• a small bunch of rau ram (Vietnamese spiky coriander) (cut thinly)
  

• a small bunch of ngo om (Vietnamese rice paddy herb) (cut thinly)
  

• 0.5 pack of tamarind soup base (Knorr)

• 2 tbs fish sauce

• 2 cups of water

• 2 tbs lemon juice
  

• salt (based on taste)
  

• pepper (based on taste)
  

Preparation:

1. Add a small amount of oil to your pot. Stir-fry the garlic and lemon grass until fragrant.
2. Add water to the pot. Then add the tamarind soup base powder, fish sauce, salt, pepper, celery, pineapple and tomatoes.
3. Wait until the soup is boiling, add the fish pieces to the soup.
4. When the soup is boiling for the second time, add okra pods, rau ram, ngo om, beansprout and lemon juice. 
5. Taste it before serving, see if the sourness is balanced in the soup. If not, add more salt/fish sauce.