Canh chua cá (Vietnamese sour fish soup)

Inspired by the Vietnamese home-cooked style soup canh chua ca, with layered flavour from the tamarind, fish sauce and sugar, this bowl of pescatarian comfort is sure to be a new favourite.

• serves

  4

• prep

  15 minutes

• cook

  15 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

Series. Cooking. Rated PG.

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The Cook Up with Adam Liaw

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Ingredients

• 2 tbsp tamarind pulp
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 4 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
• 400 g basa fillets, cut into 4 pieces
• 1 tbsp fish sauce
• 2 tbsp sugar
• Salt
• 2 tomatoes, cut into wedges
• 8 okra, trimmed and halved on an angle, or elephant ear (bac ha)
• 1 celery stalk, peeled, thinly sliced
• 1 cup beansprouts, picked
• Fried garlic, thinly sliced bird’s eye chilli, to serve
• 1 cup mixed Asian herbs, such as coriander, mint and Thai basil, roughly chopped, to serve

Soaking time: 10 minutes

Instructions

1. In a medium bowl, soak the tamarind pulp in about ½ a cup of boiling water. Stand for 10 minutes, then when cool enough to handle, massage the pulp into the water to dissolve the pulp from the seeds.
2. Heat a medium saucepan over medium heat and add the oil and garlic. Fry the garlic until lightly browned, then scoop the garlic from the pan, leaving the oil in the base. Pour 1.5 litres of water into the pan and bring to a simmer. Add the fish pieces to the simmering water and simmer for 5 minutes, skimming any scum that rises to the surface.
3. Add the fish sauce and sugar to the soup, then strain in the tamarind liquid. Taste and adjust the seasoning as needed. Add the tomato, okra or elephant ear and the celery and simmer for 3 minutes further, then remove from the heat, stir through the beansprouts, then taste and adjust seasoning again.
4. Serve the soup with the fried garlic, chilli and roughly chopped herbs.

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Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.