Canh chua is a Vietnamese soup made with seafood and vegetables in a sweet and sour broth flavored with tamarind, pineapple, herbs, and chillies. Catfish is often used, and okra is added to thicken the sauce. It is served over white rice.
Canh chua is a soup from Vietnam that can be prepared in a variety of ways, though essentially it consists of seafood and vegetables in a sweet and sour broth. The broth is flavored with tamarind to give a tart flavor and then balanced with fruits such as pineapple for sweetness. Herbs and chillies are added to give a warm, spicy taste and some complexity. The type of fish used can be almost anything available, but it is often catfish or sea bass. The vegetables included in canh chua usually include okra to help thicken the sauce, a type of Vietnamese celery, bean sprouts, and tomatoes which are cooked with the fish until all the flavors have come together.
Fish or fish is one of the main ingredients in canh chua and can help define what else is added to the soup. Catfish – including the heads, tails, and sometimes even the innards – are used most often. Other types of fish include bass, salmon and tuna. The dish may also be made with eel, shrimp, beef, or fish, although fish sauce would be used instead if available.
The sauce for canh chua centers around the use of tamarind. This is a very tart tasting ingredient that can be used fresh but is more often found as a paste or sometimes sweetened concentrated liquid. Other ingredients that are common to the soup are the paddy herb – called ngo om – which has a very aromatic cumin flavor and the Vietnamese coriander, which is called rau ram. You can add lemongrass, pineapple, onion, garlic, ginger, sugar and celery to the soup base.
The variety and amount of vegetables in canh chua varies from recipe to recipe. Okra is often included, because it can help thicken the sauce, just like fish heads will. Tomatoes, bean sprouts, water spinach, and bamboo shoots are all vegetables that can be found in different versions of canh chua. While not all recipes call for it, ingredients such as hot peppers, hot sauce, chili paste, or other hot seasonings can be added to round out the flavor.
Canh Chua is made very simply. All ingredients are added to a pot along with a good amount of water. They are brought to a boil and left to simmer for some time. Fish sauce can be added to enhance the flavor of the seafood if needed. When done, the fish can be removed and served separately, or the whole soup can be ladled over freshly made white rice.
Protect your devices with Threat Protection by NordVPN
