Vietnamese Sweet & Sour Tamarind Fish Soup with Elephant Ear Taro (Canh Chua Ca Nau Bac Ha)

Step 1

At a bottom of a medium-size non-stick pot, add vegetable oil and pan fry garlic until golden brown. Transfer garlic (leave oil) to a small bowl and set aside. To the pot with garlic oil, pan fry fish steaks until fragrant (10 seconds per side). Add 1 quart water to the pot bring it to a boil then reduce to a low simmer and cook for 15 minutes.

Step 2

Place tamarind pulp into a small bowl and ladle in about a cup of hot water from the stock pot. Dissolve tamarind pulp by pushing on it with a small spoon. Sieve the pulp through a fine-mesh strainer. Discard pulp and transfer tamarind liquid into the pot.

Step 3

Season fish stock with fish sauce, chicken/mushroom stock powder, sea salt and sugar. The broth should be really bold in flavor at this point. It will mellow out once vegetables are added.

Step 4

Add in elephant ear taro and tomatoes and immediately turn off heat. Residual heat will cook the vegetables.

Step 5

When ready to serve, garnish with chopped cilantro, Thai basil or rice paddy herb, and fried garlic. Add sliced chili peppers for spiciness.