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5 from 25 votes

Vietnamese Sweet and Sour Soup (Canh Chua)

A quick and easy-to-make Vietnamese sour soup (canh chua) made from scratch, with a perfectly balanced sweet and sour soup, made with tamarind, aromatic herbs, and your choice of protein (fish or chicken)
Prep Time20 minutes
Cook Time15 minutes
Total Time35 minutes
Course: Soup
Cuisine: Vietnamese
Servings: 3 servings
Calories: 276kcal
Author: Joyce Lee

Ingredients

  • 4 cups low sodium broth (chicken, vegetable or seafood)
  • 3 tablespoons fish sauce
  • 1 tablespoons + 1 ½ teaspoon sugar
  • 3 cloves garlic

Tamarind

  • 1 cup boiled water
  • 60 g tamarind paste (approximately 2 tablespoons. Or 5½ tablespoons of tamarind concentrate)

Chicken Marinade

Vegetables

  • 1 cup pineapple (fresh or canned, cut into 1 inch pieces)
  • 1 cup tomatoes (1 small or 1 large tomato, chopped into 1 inch pieces)
  • 1 cup okra
  • 1 cup elephant ears (taro stem)

Herbs and Garnishes

  • 1 handful bean sprouts (approx. 1 cup)
  • rice paddy herb (rau om)
  • Thai basil
  • fried garlic or shallots
  • sawtooth coriander
  • 1 Thai chili

Instructions

Preparation

  • (If you are using tamarind concentrate, you can skip this step.)
    Add the tamarind paste into a small bowl and pour 1 cup of boiling water over it until it is fully submerged.
    Use a fork to separate the chunk of tamarind into smaller pieces every few minutes.
    Soak the tamarind paste for 15 minutes.
  • Finely mince the garlic and set it aside.
  • Peel the elephant ears and cut them into ½-1 inch pieces diagonally.
  • Remove the core of the tomatoes and cut them into wedges and set them aside
  • Remove the okra stems and cut them into ½ inch chunks diagonally.
  • Cut the pineapple into 1 inch chunks and set them aside.
  • Finely chop the rice paddy herb and sawtooth cilantro. If you are using Thai basil, remove the leaves from the stems and discard the stems and finely chop the leaves.
    Set the herbs aside for later.
  • Using a fork, mix the tamarind into the water by smashing it down. Use a strainer to strain out seeds and skins from the tamarind water.
    Smash the seeds and skins through the strainer to get any last pulp and scrape the bottom of the strainer to collect the rest of the tamarind pulp to add to the water.
    Set the tamarind water aside for later.

Marinate the Chicken (Skip this step if you are using fish)

  • Slice the chicken breast into thin slices (approx ¼ inch thick)
  • Marinate it with cornstarch, soy sauce, and cornstarch and set it aside for later

Prepare the Fish (Use these steps if you're using fish)

  • Add a bit of oil into a frying pan
  • Once the oil is hot, add in half the chopped garlic and the fish and cook it for about 2-3 minutes on each side.
  • Turn off the heat and set the fish and garlic oil aside for later.

Making the Canh Chua Soup

  • In a large pot, set the stove to medium heat and add the oil and the garlic into the pot. Toast the garlic until it is golden brown.
  • (Optional) Once the garlic is golden brown, you can set aside a bit of the garlic and oil as a garnish to add into your soup before you serve it.
  • Add the broth, prepared tamarind water (or concentrate), and pineapple to the pot and simmer for 10 minutes.
  • Add the okra, tomatoes, elephant ears, and marinated chicken (or fish with its garlic oil) and cook for 2-3 minutes until the chicken has fully cooked.
    (If you are using thick fish steaks, you will need to add an additional 5 minutes of cooking time since the fish will be thicker than the chicken)
  • Add in the fish sauce and sugar and do a taste test. If you like your soup less sour, add in more sugar.
  • Turn off the heat and add in the herbs and bean sprouts.
  • If you reserved the garlic and garlic oil, add it in right before you serve it.

Notes

  • If you are using canned pineapples, buy them in rings so that you can cut them into large 1 inch pieces. You can also add the pineapple juice from the can directly into the soup as well for some more flavor.
  • You can substitute the chicken for fish or shrimp. If you use fish or shrimp, skip the marinade step.
  • If you are using fish, pan-fry it in a bit of oil and minced garlic to give it a bit of flavor before fully cooking it in the soup and the fish will hold its shape better while it's boiling in the broth.
  • If you can't find rice paddy herb you can omit it and just use Thai basil. If you can't find sawtooth cilantro, you can substitute it with regular cilantro as well.
  • If you are using tamarind concentrate, different brands will have different concentrations and tartness, so add the tamarind concentrate 1 tablespoon at a time and do a taste test between tablespoons.
  • I find the Indian tamarind concentrate (which is usually black or darker in color) much thicker and stronger in flavor, so when you are shopping for tamarind concentrate, try to find the Thai version instead.
  • Try not to overcook the beansprouts. Add it at the very end after you turn off the heat. This retains the crunch and flavor of the bean sprouts.

Nutrition

Serving: 2cups | Calories: 276kcal | Carbohydrates: 37g | Protein: 25g | Fat: 4g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 0.01g | Cholesterol: 48mg | Sodium: 1607mg | Potassium: 1062mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 23g | Vitamin A: 699IU | Vitamin C: 27mg | Calcium: 87mg | Iron: 2mg