canh chua ca' (sour fish soup) recipe, how does it look?

deepsouth · Sep 22, 2012

i combined a couple recipes for canh chua ca' (sour fish soup) and this is what i came up with.

how does it look to you? anything you would change?

1 tbs canola oil
1 small yellow onion
2 tbs tamarind
1.5 tbs red boat fish sauce
1.5 tbs sugar
1.5 lbs red snapper filets
1 cup cubed pineapple
8 oz cut okra
2 cups mung bean sprouts
1 tsp cumin
4 plum tomatos
4 stalks lemongrass
4 cups vegetable broth
3 cups water
2 cloves garlic
2 slalks bac ha
1 bunch enoki mushrooms
1 dozen straw mushrooms
2 tsp black peppercorns
2 tsp sea salt
2 shallots

heat oil in saucepan and simmer onion and garlic about five minutes. add tamarind, fish sauce, sugar, salt, cumin, vegetable broth, lemongrass, black peppercorns. reduce heat to med-low and simmer 20 minutes. remove aromatics.

heat oil in sauce pan and add straw mushrooms for 2-3 minutes and then add enoki mushrooms for a minute. set aside.

add okra, pineapple and red snapper and simmer about until okra is tender but firm. add mushrooms and bean sprounts and tomatos and shallots and bring to a boil until sprouts start to wilt.

remove from heat and serve over rice.

BMantlow · Sep 22, 2012

Where's the pic

deepsouth · Sep 22, 2012

BMantlow said:
Where's the pic

i haven't cooked it yet. i'm seeking advice.

Big George's BBQ · Sep 22, 2012

MNever heard of this Sounds interesting I dont think I have ever seen some of those ingrediants

deepsouth · Sep 22, 2012

Big George's BBQ said:
MNever heard of this Sounds interesting I dont think I have ever seen some of those ingrediants

all of that came from an excellent asian grocery store which i am glad we have. we have crap for regular grocery stores, but the asian one rocks.

buccaneer · Sep 22, 2012

Jason I don't like the recipe.
Seek another if it were I.
The principle of using fish sauce early instead of a fish stock is all wrong.
Just my opinion.

Can you find catfish there?
I'd use 2-4 heads, whisker snout lopped off and split and make stock.
Use the fish sauce finally like a seasoning.

buccaneer · Sep 22, 2012

This one looks better IMO
For a 5-quart pot, you'll need:

2 to 4 fish heads, tails, or fillets. Catfish= best
2 to 3 stalks of bac ha (Vietnamese taro stem) or celery if you can't find it, peeled and sliced along the diagonal
2 tomatoes, large dice
1 to 2 cups fresh pineapple chunks
1 cup bean sprouts
a dozen or so okra pods, sliced in 1-inch segments
1 shallot, minced
2 or more cloves garlic, minced
A few sprigs ngo om (Vietnamese rice paddy herb) or rau ram (Vietnamese coriander)
2 Tbs tamarind
2 Tbs Vietnamese fish sauce
2 lemongrass stalks cut in 3 inches so they can easily be removed from the pot
Add some oil and saute shallot, garlic, tamarind, and lemongrass until fragrant. Add cleaned fish heads.

Then, leaving the ingredients in the pot, fill your stock pot 3/4-full. Bring to a boil, turn heat down to medium to simmer, and scoop out any excess foam. You can either remove the lemongrass stalks at this point if you don't want to have to do that while you're eating. I like to leave them in so they can flavor the soup even more. Leaving the lemongrass in big sections makes it easier to find and to remove from the soup later.

Add tomatoes, pineapple, bac ha, and okra and let simmer. Add fish sauce to taste.

After maybe 15 minutes, when the fish is fully cooked and the veggies have slightly softened, taste soup again and add fish sauce if needed.
Serve straight or with white rice.

The only thing I would add is,ngo am has a cumin taste to it, perhaps add a 1/4 tsp at the end of simmering time?
HTH Jason

deepsouth · Sep 22, 2012

buccaneer said:
This one looks better IMO
For a 5-quart pot, you'll need:

2 to 4 fish heads, tails, or fillets. Catfish= best
2 to 3 stalks of bac ha (Vietnamese taro stem) or celery if you can't find it, peeled and sliced along the diagonal
2 tomatoes, large dice
1 to 2 cups fresh pineapple chunks
1 cup bean sprouts
a dozen or so okra pods, sliced in 1-inch segments
1 shallot, minced
2 or more cloves garlic, minced
A few sprigs ngo om (Vietnamese rice paddy herb) or rau ram (Vietnamese coriander)
2 Tbs tamarind
2 Tbs Vietnamese fish sauce
2 lemongrass stalks cut in 3 inches so they can easily be removed from the pot
Add some oil and saute shallot, garlic, tamarind, and lemongrass until fragrant. Add cleaned fish heads.

Then, leaving the ingredients in the pot, fill your stock pot 3/4-full. Bring to a boil, turn heat down to medium to simmer, and scoop out any excess foam. You can either remove the lemongrass stalks at this point if you don't want to have to do that while you're eating. I like to leave them in so they can flavor the soup even more. Leaving the lemongrass in big sections makes it easier to find and to remove from the soup later.

Add tomatoes, pineapple, bac ha, and okra and let simmer. Add fish sauce to taste.

After maybe 15 minutes, when the fish is fully cooked and the veggies have slightly softened, taste soup again and add fish sauce if needed.
Serve straight or with white rice.

The only thing I would add is,ngo am has a cumin taste to it, perhaps add a 1/4 tsp at the end of simmering time?
HTH Jason

i do like that bucc. i was going to get some catfish, but i could only find fileted frozen, so i went with the red snapper this time. i definitely like the idea of making the stock myself and i'll go that route next time. dig your recipe and will make some adjustments.

canh chua ca' (sour fish soup) recipe, how does it look?

deepsouth

somebody shut me the fark up.

BMantlow

Knows what a fatty is.

deepsouth

somebody shut me the fark up.

Big George's BBQ

somebody shut me the fark up.

deepsouth

somebody shut me the fark up.

buccaneer

somebody shut me the fark up.

buccaneer

somebody shut me the fark up.

deepsouth

somebody shut me the fark up.

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