Ingredients: Tomatoes, pineapple, cooking oil, spring onions, star fruit, ridged gourd, bean sprouts, tofu, scallions, and coriander.
Instructions:
– Sauté the white part of the spring onions in a little oil, then add the tomatoes and pineapple. Fry until fragrant.
– Add just enough water for a soup, bring to a boil, and then add 2 star fruits or 2 tablespoons of tamarind juice, along with some vegetarian seasoning, salt, and fish sauce.
– Add the ridged gourd, bean sprouts, and tofu.
– Bring to a boil again, then add the scallions and coriander. Adjust the seasoning to taste and turn off the heat.
2. SOUR CLAM SOUP
Ingredients:
– Clams: 1kg
– 2 tomatoes
– 1 star fruit
– 1 shallot
– Coriander, scallions
– Seasonings: salt, seasoning powder.
Instructions:
Rinse the clams, then soak them in a large bowl of water with 2 chopped chillies to ensure they are thoroughly cleaned.
Place the clams in a pot and boil them. Reduce the heat and add a pinch of salt to the pot, stirring with chopsticks to separate the clam meat from the shells.
Drain the clams, keeping the broth separate. Pour out the cloudy broth and retain only the clear liquid. Rinse the clam meat in a bowl of fresh water, then set aside to drain.
Wash the tomatoes and cut them into wedges. Clean the roots and old parts of the coriander and scallions, then wash them. Cut the star fruit, removing the rim, and slice it thinly. Peel and thinly slice the shallot.
Heat a pot over the stove and add a tablespoon of cooking oil. When the oil is hot, add the sliced shallots and fry until fragrant. Add the clam meat and some seasoning, stir-frying until the meat is slightly cooked. Remove the mixture from the pot and set it aside.
Add another tablespoon of oil to the pot, along with half of the tomatoes. Fry the tomatoes until they are well cooked, then pour in the clam broth and bring it to a boil. Add the remaining tomatoes and star fruit, cooking for another 2 minutes. Finally, add the seasoned clam meat, adjusting the seasoning to taste.
Turn off the heat, and add the chopped scallions and coriander. Serve the soup in bowls.
3. SOUR CRAB AND WATER SPINACH SOUP
Ingredients:
– 300g river crabs
– 4 tomatoes; 1-2 star fruits
– 1 block of tofu
– A bunch of water spinach
– 2-3 shallots; Scallions, coriander.
– Seasonings, seasoning powder, bouillon powder, MSG.
– Fresh herbs to serve
Instructions:
– Clean the crabs, then separate the shells and scrape out the crab meat. Place the crab meat in a mortar and pestle or a food processor. Traditionally, using a mortar and pestle will result in a tastier dish. When pounding the crab meat, add a pinch of salt to extract more of the meat’s juices. After filtering the crab liquid, you can crack an egg into it and stir to create a delicious crab meat and egg mixture.
– Add a little salt to the crab meat and filter the liquid through a fine sieve 2-3 times to ensure it is free of sediment.
Wash the tomatoes, shallots, and herbs. Cut the tomatoes into wedges, and thinly slice the star fruit to a thickness of about 0.5 cm. Peel and thinly slice the shallots, then fry them in oil until crispy and set aside. Cut the tofu into bite-sized pieces and fry until golden on all sides, then set aside.
Place 2 star fruits in a pot with a bowl of water and boil until the fruits are soft. Strain the liquid and set it aside. Clean the water spinach and pick the leaves.
Place the crab liquid in a pot over low heat, adding a teaspoon of bouillon powder and stirring gently. When the crab liquid boils and the crab meat forms a solid mass, remove the meat and set it aside. As mentioned earlier, if you want the crab meat to solidify, crack an egg into the filtered crab liquid and stir before adding it to the pot.
Fry the tomatoes and star fruit with the shallots. Add ½ teaspoon of bouillon powder, then add the crab meat and stir-fry.
After stir-frying, add the mixture to the crab liquid and simmer for another 3-4 minutes over low heat.
– Add the tofu to the crab liquid and continue cooking for 1-2 minutes. Adjust the seasoning to taste, then add some water spinach, scallions, and coriander. Serve the soup in bowls.
– This sour crab and water spinach soup is a refreshing dish, perfect for hot summer days. It can be served with rice, or with noodles for breakfast or when you’re tired of eating rice.
– The desired result for this dish is a clear, sweet, and sour broth; soft and fragrant tofu; and solid, tasty crab meat.
4. SOUR GROUND PORK SOUP
Ingredients:
– 150g ground pork
– 2 tomatoes
– 3-4 star fruits
– A bunch of water spinach
– 2 scallions – 1 shallot – Seasonings: cooking oil, seasoning powder, bouillon powder, MSG.
Instructions:
– Place a pan over the stove and add a little oil. Finely chop the shallot and fry until fragrant, then add the ground pork and stir-fry until cooked. Season with bouillon powder.
– Wash the tomatoes, cut them into wedges, and peel and wash the star fruits. Cut the star fruits into small pieces.
– Add the meat mixture to a pot, along with a bowl of water, and bring to a boil. Season to taste.
– Add the water spinach and cook for another 2 minutes or until the leaves are tender.
– Finally, add the chopped scallions and a little MSG. Serve the soup in a bowl.
5. SOUR FISH AND ‘LA GIANG’ LEAF SOUP
Ingredients:
– 1 snakehead fish, approximately 500g
– 100 ‘la giang’ leaves
– 150g tomatoes
– Coriander, sawtooth coriander, chillies, garlic
– Fish sauce, salt, cooking oil, palm sugar, vinegar.
Instructions:
– Clean the fish, then rub it with salt and vinegar to remove any slime and reduce the fishy smell. Rinse the fish again and pat it dry. Cut the fish into sections and marinate it with 1 teaspoon of fish sauce for 10-15 minutes.
– Peel and finely chop the garlic. Wash the tomatoes and cut them into wedges. Remove the roots and old parts of the coriander and sawtooth coriander, then wash them. Cut the chillies into slices.
– Pick the ‘la giang’ leaves, discarding the stems and old leaves. Rinse the leaves, then crush them slightly and place them in a colander to drain.
– Heat a pan over the stove and add a teaspoon of cooking oil. When the oil is hot, add the chopped garlic and fry until golden. Remove half of the fried garlic and set it aside. Fry the marinated fish in the pan, just enough to firm the flesh, as overcooking will cause the fish to fall apart. For this sour soup, it is not necessary to fry the fish until golden.
– When the fish is firm, remove it from the pan and set it aside. Add the tomatoes to the pan and cook until soft.
– Bring a pot of water to a boil, then add the fried tomatoes. When the water returns to a boil, add a pinch of salt and the fish. Cook the fish until done.
– Add the ‘la giang’ leaves and continue boiling. Add a little palm sugar to the soup, adjusting the seasoning to achieve a balance of sour and sweet flavors. Turn off the heat and add ½ teaspoon of fish sauce, along with the chopped coriander and sawtooth coriander.
– Serve the fish soup in bowls, garnished with sliced chillies and fried garlic.
6. KIMCHI SOUP
Ingredients:
– 2 bowls of kimchi
– 120g good-quality pork belly (with less fat)
– 1-3 teaspoons of Korean chilli powder; 1 teaspoon of minced garlic; ½ teaspoon of minced ginger; ½ cup of kimchi juice; 2 cups of water (500ml); 2 blocks of tofu; 2 stalks of scallions
– Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions:
Rinse the pork belly and cut it into bite-sized pieces. Cut the tofu into 1.75cm thick slices. Cut the scallions into sections.
In a pot, combine the kimchi, pork, chilli powder, garlic, ginger, and kimchi juice. Simmer over medium heat until the kimchi is soft and the pork is almost cooked (about 10 minutes). Add the kimchi juice and water, then reduce the heat and simmer for 20 minutes, adding more water if needed.
Add the tofu and scallions, along with salt and pepper to taste. As kimchi is already quite salty, be cautious when adding salt. Simmer for another 5 minutes, then turn off the heat.
Serve the kimchi soup in bowls and enjoy!
7. SOUR SQUID SOUP
Ingredients:
– 2 squid, approximately 200g
– 1 ridged gourd
– ¼ pineapple
– 50g bean sprouts – 3-4 baby corn – 1 tomato, 1 small block of tamarind, a few sprigs of coriander, sawtooth coriander, garlic, chillies.
– Seasonings: sugar, salt, fish sauce, white wine, cooking oil.
Instructions:
Peel the ridged gourd and cut it into thin slices. Rub the slices with a little salt, rinse, and drain. Peel and core the pineapple, then cut it into thin slices. Cut the ends off the baby corn and slice them diagonally. Wash the tomato and cut it into wedges. Clean the coriander and sawtooth coriander, removing the roots and old parts. Rinse the bean sprouts. Soak the tamarind in hot water for about 5 minutes to soften it, then strain the liquid, discarding the seeds and fibers.
Peel and finely chop the garlic. Rinse the squid and rub it with a little white wine to remove any fishy smell. Pat the squid dry and cut it into rings.
Heat a pan over the stove and add some cooking oil. When the oil is hot, add the chopped garlic and fry until golden. Remove half of the fried garlic and set it aside. Add the squid and a little fish sauce to the pan and stir-fry.
In a separate pot, bring some water to a boil and season it with salt, tamarind liquid, and sugar to taste. Note that this southern-style sour soup does not use seasoning powder or MSG!
After seasoning the broth, add the vegetables: pineapple, tomato, ridged gourd, baby corn, and bean sprouts. When the vegetables are cooked, add the stir-fried squid, along with a teaspoon of fish sauce, and adjust the seasoning. Turn off the heat and ladle the soup into bowls. Garnish with sliced chillies, coriander, sawtooth coriander, and fried garlic.
Now you have a delicious and refreshing sour squid soup to enjoy with your family on a hot summer day.
8. CHICKEN AND ‘LA GIANG’ LEAF SOUP
Ingredients: (serves 3)
– 4 garlic cloves
– 3 pairs of chicken legs
– 1 bunch of ‘la giang’ leaves (about 400g)
– 3 cloves of garlic
– Seasonings: 30g salt; 40g seasoning powder; 40g sugar
