Vietnamese Sweet Sour Shrimp Soup With Pineapple Canh Chua Tom Nau Thom Recipes

VIETNAMESE SOUR SOUP (CANH CHUA)

Steps:

• Heat up a pot of water and bring it to a boil.
• Meanwhile, add 3 tbsp oil to a saucepan and brown the garlic on low heat for 5 minutes or until golden. Set aside for later.
• With the water boiling, season it with the tamarind powder, chicken bouillon powder, sugar and fish sauce. Bring the heat to a simmer as you prepare the fresh ingredients.
• Chop the pineapple into 4cm (1.6") long chunks.
• Cut the elephant ear plants into 4cm (1.6") long segments by slicing diagonally.
• Cut the okra in half using a diagonal slice.
• Cut the tomatoes into thick wedges.
• Finely chop the rice paddy herb and sawtooth coriander.
• Heat up a wok on high heat and add 4 tbsp oil in. Lower the heat to medium and brown the garlic for 30 seconds.
• Turn the heat back to high and add the fish steaks in to sear on both sides for 3 minutes each side.
• Bring the pot of seasoned water back to a boil and pour the fish and garlic in.
• Add the pineapple, elephant ear plant, okra, tomatoes and browned garlic to simmer for 10 minutes.
• Serve as is garnished with fried garlic, rice paddy herb and sawtooth coriander. Pour a small dish of fish sauce to use as a dip!

VIETNAMESE SWEET & SOUR SHRIMP SOUP WITH PINEAPPLE (CANH CHUA TOM NAU THOM)

Steps:

• Prep the ingredients: Devein the shrimp by inserting a toothpick underneath the vein and between the shells. Pull up to remove. Give the shrimp a quick rinse, if needed. Peel and finely dice the garlic cloves. Cut the pineapples into small bite-size chunks. If using large okra, halve at a diagonal. Otherwise, leave okra whole. Quarter the tomatoes. Set everything aside.
• In a medium-size pot, heat oil on medium-high. Add garlic and fry until golden brown. Set aside half of the fried garlic for garnish. Add chicken stock to the pot with the remaining garlic and bring the pot to a boil.
• Add tamarind pulp to a mesh strainer and lower it into the stockpot. Use the back of a spoon to help push the pulp through the strainer. Discard remains.
• Season stock with salt, fish sauce, and sugar to taste.
• Add shrimp. When shrimp start to turn color, add okra and pineapple. Cook for 1-2 minutes. Lastly, add tomatoes and immediately turn off the heat.
• Garnish soup with fried garlic from earlier, Thai chili peppers, and either rice paddy herbs, Thai basil, culantro, or cilantro. Serve with steamed rice and one of the following traditional Vietnamese protein dishes for a complete meal.