← Nouns Cooking · Vietnamese

Ingredients

• 3 tbsp Vegetable oil
• 5 cloves Garlic, finely chopped
• 1 l Water
• 3 tbsp tamarind purée (or 25 g tamarind pulp soaked in hot water and strained)
• 400 g catfish steaks or firm white fish, cut into large pieces
• 150 g Pineapple, cut into bite-size pieces
• 2 Tomato, cut into wedges
• 120 g Okra, sliced on the diagonal
• 2 tbsp Fish sauce
• 2 tbsp Sugar
• ½ tsp Salt
• 150 g Bean sprouts
• 1 handful Thai basil, rice paddy herb or coriander, chopped
• 2 Bird's eye chilli, sliced (optional)

Method

1. Fry the garlic in the oil in a small pan over medium-low heat for 2–3 minutes, until golden. Pour into a heatproof bowl and set aside; this is the topping.
2. Bring the water and tamarind to the boil in a saucepan. Add the fish, lower the heat and simmer gently for 6–8 min, skimming off any foam, until the fish is just cooked.
3. Add the pineapple, tomato and okra and simmer for 3–4 minutes, until the okra is tender but still bright.
4. Season with the fish sauce, sugar and salt. Taste: canh chua should be clearly sour and sweet, then salty. Add more tamarind or sugar to balance.
5. Turn off the heat, add the bean sprouts and ladle into bowls. Top with the herbs, chillies and a spoonful of the fried garlic and its oil. Serve with rice.

Tips

• Taro stems (bạc hà) are the classic addition; celery is a good stand-in.
• Swap the fish for peeled prawns (canh chua tôm) and simmer them for just 2 minutes.

Sources

Written in our own words after cross-checking these recipes:

Vicky Pham Wok and Kin