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Vietnamese Sweet and Sour Soup | Canh Chua

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By: Cindy Lam Lorimer
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 45 minutes
Servings: 6
Canh Chua is a popular Vietnamese sweet and sour soup known for its tangy and refreshing flavor. The broth is made with tamarind, tomatoes, pineapple and shrimp and garnished with paddy herbs, which gives it its signature taste, and bean sprouts. Serve with rice and you have a winner!

Ingredients 

Marinade:

  • 2 lbs shrimp, shell on, tails removed
  • 3 Tbsp fish sauce
  • ½ tsp black pepper

Fried garlic:

  • ½ cup avocado oil, or any neutral oil
  • 2 garlic cloves, chopped

Broth:

  • ¼ cup oil, from fried garlic above
  • 2 large shallots, peeled, sliced
  • ⅓ cup tamarind paste
  • ½ cup rock sugar
  • 2 Tbsp chicken bouillon
  • 2 Tbsp mushroom powder
  • 1 Tbsp fish sauce
  • ½ pineapple, peeled and cut into bit size pieces
  • 2 7.4 oz cans straw mushroom, drained
  • 4 cups bean sprouts
  • 10-12 inch long bac ha, peeled and sliced (or you can substitute with 2 cups of okra, cut to ¼ inch slices)
  • 4 tomatoes, quartered
  • 1 Tbsp tomato paste
  • 3.5 quarts water

Optional garnish:

  • ngo om, rough chop, essential for this dish as it’s what makes the flavor
  • basil, rough chop
  • cilantro, rough chop
  • culantro, rough chop
  • whole Thai chili peppers, cut diagonally long (optional)

Instructions

  • Marinate shrimp with fish sauce and a pinch of black pepper.
  • Let it sit at room temperature while prepping the remaining items.
  • In a small saucepan, heat ½ cup of oil.
  • Turn off heat once it’s hot, then add chopped garlic and fry it until it turns light brown and strain. Set the fried garlic aside. This will be used as a garnishment to the pot of soup.
  • In a 7 quart pot on medium high heat, add ¼ cup of the garlic infused oil.
  • Once hot, add sliced shallots and stir fry for a few minutes until they soften.
  • Add marinated shrimp and stir fry until it turns slightly pink.
  • Add remaining broth ingredients and 3.5 quarts of water.
  • Bring it to a boil, then reduce heat to let it simmer for 20 minutes so all the flavors infuse, and the tamarind paste and rock sugar have completely melted.
  • Right before serving, add the following to the pot: ngo om, basil, cilantro, culantro, fried garlic and Thai chili (optional).

Nutrition

Serving: 1portion | Calories: 402kcal | Carbohydrates: 51g | Protein: 39g | Fat: 11g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 7g | Trans Fat: 0.01g | Cholesterol: 243mg | Sodium: 1472mg | Potassium: 972mg | Fiber: 7g | Sugar: 33g | Vitamin A: 787IU | Vitamin C: 58mg | Calcium: 164mg | Iron: 3mg

Equipment

  • 7 quart pot

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