Canh Chua
Canh chua, also known as Vietnamese sweet & sour soup, comes from the Mekong Delta in southern Vietnam. It includes a tamarind broth filled with fish (typically catfish) from the delta, pineapple, tomatoes, elephant ear stalks, and bean sprouts. And it is usually served with a side of white rice and Ca Kho To. Like with many Vietnamese dishes, there are a ton of different interpretations, and every family has their own version.
- Prep time: 30 mins
- Cooking time: 2.5 hrs
- Serves: 4 people
- Diary-free, Gluten-free
You will need:
- 1.5 lb pork
- 1 yellow onion
- 1.5 oz fresh tamarind
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 can pineapple 20 oz
- 1 piece ginger 1 inch long
- 1.5 lb catfish cut into 1 inch pieces
- 10 oz elephant ear stem cut into chunks
- 3 tomatoes quartered
- 12 oz bean sprouts
- 1 tsp granulated sugar
- 1 oz rice paddy herb
Now let's begin!
- Add pork to a large soup pot. Cover with water until it just covers the pork. Bring to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes. Take out the pork and then throw away the water. This process cleans the pork. Rinse the pot and add the pork back. Cover the pork with fresh water until it just covers the meat. Bring to a boil.
- Add the onion and simmer for 1.5 hours. Make sure to check every 30 minutes for impurities. Scoop away any you see.
- While the soup is simmering, combine 1 cup of water and tamarind in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil and let it simmer until the tamarind dissolves.You can help speed up the process by using the back of a spoon to crush the tamarind. Pour the tamarind through a fine mesh sieve into a small bowl. Set aside.
- After simmering the soup for 1.5 hours, add the pineapple and ginger to the soup. Simmer for another 20 minutes.
- Put the catfish in and simmer for another 10 minutes until it is cooked through.
- Lastly, add the vegetables and tamarind from step 3. Bring the soup to a boil and serve with a side of white rice. Make sure to taste the soup for seasoning and add more salt if it tastes bland.
Recipe sites reviews:
Cooking Therapy has animation for its images and smooth transitions, making the viewing experience very seemless.
Vicky Pham's website seems like a simple Wordpress website. It has a comment section, which I think can help other people share their own tips, recipe for Canh Chua.
Cookmorphosis has a section suggesting other dishes you can make along with Canh Chua, which I thought was very smart to help people that are not very familiar with Vietnamese cuisine to learn more about it and understand which pairings are common.
Non-recipe sites reviews:
Emergence Magazine has audio for narration, which I thought could be a good addition for my website for those that are visually impaired.
Ghost Bar has a very clean and effective design. I think it portrays the food and images very well and making them the highlight of the website.
