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Canh Chua - Vietnamese Sour Soup

This savoury and tangy soup is a childhood favourite soup of mine. Growing up, my mom used a powdered packet of the soup base, but now that I'm vegan, I've had to make it from tamarind pulp since the packet has shrimp in it. It takes a bit of work but is super worth the flavour!
Course: Dinner
Cuisine: Vietnamese
Keyword: canh chua, sour soup, tamarind
Servings: 4

Ingredients

  • 1 package rice vermicelli 375 g
  • 1 medium onion sliced
  • 1 tsp chili oil
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 package tamarind paste 227g
  • 7 cups water
  • 1 tsp salt
  • ¼ tsp dried chili flakes
  • 1 block firm tofu 454 g, pressed, drained and cut into bite sized pieces
  • 3 small vine tomatoes de-stemmed and cut into wedges
  • cup diced pineapple
  • 1 green onion white part thinly sliced diagonally, green part thinly sliced

Instructions

  • Over medium high heat, cover rice vermicelli with water in a large pot and boil until tender, about 10 minutes. Taste test to check. Strain and rinse well with cold water to remove starch. Set aside to continue straining.
    1 package rice vermicelli
  • To make the soup, in a large pot over medium heat, cook the onions in chili and olive oils until translucent, about 2 minutes.
    1 medium onion, 1 tsp chili oil, 1 tbsp olive oil
  • Meanwhile, mash tamarind paste into 1 cup water until almost all of the fruit is dissolved and only pulp remains. Strain the pulp and pour the tamarind slurry into the pot. Continue adding more water to dissolve the fruit. Add the remaining amount of water into the pot. Add salt and chili flakes and bring to a boil.
    1 package tamarind paste, 7 cups water, 1 tsp salt, ¼ tsp dried chili flakes
  • Add the tofu, tomatoes, pineapple and the white part of the green onion and bring soup to a simmer. Let this stew for about 15 minutes. Serve over rice vermicelli and garnish with thinly sliced green onion.
    1 block firm tofu, 3 small vine tomatoes, 1½ cup diced pineapple, 1 green onion