Ingredients for the Sour Vegetable and Fish Soup
– 500g fish
– 3 tomatoes
– 1 knob of fresh turmeric
– 1/3 unripe tamarind fruit
– Shallots, dill, and spring onions
Seasonings: Fish sauce, salt, pepper, cooking oil
Instructions for the Sour Vegetable and Fish Soup
Step 1: Prepare the ingredients
Start by cleaning the fish: rub it with ginger wine or lemon and salt to remove any fishy smell, then rinse thoroughly and set aside. Cut the tomatoes in half, remove the stems, and chop them into wedges. Clean the turmeric, peel it, and either grate it or extract its juice. Slice the shallots. Chop the spring onions and dill. To add a sour taste, use fresh tamarind or green star fruit.
As unripe tamarind is in season, buy a lot, slice it, and sun-dry it. You can then use it all year round for sour soups and fish stews. Marinate the fish with turmeric and a little fish sauce, salt, and other seasonings for 10-15 minutes to let the flavors absorb.
Step 2: Prepare the sour vegetable
Wear gloves and peel the sour vegetable with a thin, sharp knife. Cut it into long, thin slices and put them in a bowl. Add a little salt and wear gloves to gently squeeze the slices. When the sour vegetable softens, squeeze out the water and rinse it several times. This is the secret to removing the itchiness and scratchy throat feeling that sour vegetable can sometimes cause. Depending on your taste, you may choose to pan-fry the fish first or not.
Step 3: Cook the fish soup
Fry the shallots until fragrant, then add half of the tomatoes and a pinch of salt to soften them. Put this mixture into a pot of boiling water, along with the remaining tomatoes and tamarind. After a few minutes, remove the tamarind, mash it, and strain the sour juice. Add the fish to the pot and simmer until cooked, seasoning to taste. Then, slowly pour in the tamarind juice to get the right sourness. Once the fish is cooked, add the sour vegetable, bring it to a boil, and it’s done!
Step 4: Seasoning
Finally, add a little fish sauce to enhance the sweetness and aroma of the soup. Throw in the spring onions and dill, turn off the heat, and serve.
Step 5: Final product