Canh Chua Chay (Vietnamese Vegetarian Sour Soup)
Servings: 5
Ingredients
- ¼ fresh cubed pineapple
- 200 grams elephant ears peeled, washed with salt and cut at a diagonal.
- 1 tbsp chopped garlic
- 80 grams wet tamarind
- 6 roma tomatoes cut into quarters.
- ½ pound beansprouts washed.
- 1 pound fresh okra washed and chopped into 1 inch pieces.
- 1½ cup hot water used to soak the wet tamarind.
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 tbsp salt
- 1 tbsp pepper
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 1 tbsp fish sauce
- 1 tsp ground cumin as a substitute for rice paddy herb. If you have rice paddy herb, wash then coarsely chop it then add it to the broth at the very end, before serving.
- 4 cups chicken stock
- 2 cups water
- 1 tsp granulated chicken powder
- 1 cube canh chua seasoning
- ½ cup saw tooth herb coarsely chopped.
Instructions
Instructions for prepping the ingredients:
- Peel and cut the fresh pineapple then set it aside.
- Peel the elephant ear, wash then cut at a diagonal into ½ sized pieces, then set aside.
- Cut the roma tomatoes into quarter, then set aside.
- Wash then cut the okra into 1 inch pieces, then set aside.
- Wash the bean sprouts and set aside.
- Wash and coarsely chop the saw tooth herb and set aside.
- In a separate bowl, combine 1.5 cups of hot water with 80 grams of tamarind and let it soak. You can help the process along by using a whisk to break up the tamarind block until it makes a slurry.
- Take the slurry and drain it through a fine mesh colander, and discard the chunks. Set the slurry aside.
Instructions for making the soup:
- In a pan, place vegetable oil, chopped garlic and let sauté for about 2 minutes.
- To the pan add the pineapple, elephant ear, okra, tomatoes, salt, pepper and let it sauté for 2 minutes.
- Add to the vegetables, the tamarind slurry, additional water, chicken broth, ground cumin, fish sauce, sugar, canh chua seasoning cube and granulated chicken powder. Mix well to combine. Give the broth a taste & adjust it accordingly by either adding more salt or sugar.
- Let the broth come to a boil then turn the heat to medium and add in the bean sprouts, saw tooth herb, and rice paddy herb (if available). Mix well to combine before serving. Enjoy!!!
