Vietnamese Sweet and Sour Fish Soup (Canh Chua Ca)
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If you want to experience the authentic flavors of Vietnam's traditional home cooking, you have to try this sweet and sour tamarind fish soup.
This vibrant and flavorful soup is made with your choice of fish, tamarind, fresh vegetables and aromatic herbs.
Vietnamese Sweet and Sour Fish Soup (Canh Chua Cá)
Whenever I come home from traveling, I just want traditional Vietnamese food. And nothing is more traditional and satisfying than Vietnamese sweet and sour fish soup (Canh Chua Cá) and its sister dish, Vietnamese braised and caramelized fish (Cá Kho). Add steamed white rice and you have a complete and traditional Vietnamese home-cooked meal.
Related Post: The Guide to Cooking Perfectly Steamed Rice: Asian Kid Edition
Vietnamese Sweet and Sour Fish Soup (Canh Chua Cá)
Make it Your Own
Vietnamese sweet and sour soup can be customized to fit your taste.
You can include a variety of vegetables, but tomatoes are always the base ingredient.
Other popular vegetables include elephant ear stems (a type of taro known as Bạc Hà in Vietnamese), mushrooms, okra, celery, bean sprouts, and pineapple. For the most visually appealing soup, try to include a variety of different colors of vegetables.
Fresh mung bean sprouts (Giá in Vietnamese)
Ripe tomatoes (use any variety, cut into halves, quarters, or leave whole for cherry tomatoes)
Proteins can be fish, shrimp, squid, chicken, or tofu. While you can use a variety of vegetables for the soup, stick to one protein.
Traditionally, Canh Chua Cá uses fresh water fish such as catfish, known as Cá Trê in Vietnamese. Nothing goes to waste so catfish head is typically reserved to make a more flavorful fish stock for the soup. Nowadays, fillets or steak-cuts are more widely used.
You can find catfish in many Vietnamese/Asian grocery stores. They also come whole so you can use the head in the soup as well.
If you can’t find catfish, use whatever fish you have on hand. My go-to substitute is salmon. Like catfish, salmon is fatty, has great flavor without too many bones, and it holds up well in the soup. Other recommended fish substitutes are cod, tilapia, and halibut.
Costco frozen salmon fillets. Each one is about 7 oz. For this recipe, I’m using two. To defrost quickly, drop these bags into warm water. Leave as is for the soup or cut into cubes for a shorter cooking time.
Catfish cut into 1-½ steaks. Make sure to clean the skin with a stainless steel wool to get rid of the slimy residue on the skin. A good Vietnamese/Asian fish monger will typically do this for you upon request.
Sweet, Sour, Spicy and Savory
This soup is one of many traditional Vietnamese soups, but this soup epitomizes Vietnamese home cooking. It perfectly balances the delicate combination of the four S’s: sweet, sour, spicy and savory.
The sweetness comes from sugar, which balances out the sourness of the tamarind. The spiciness comes from chili peppers, and the savory flavor comes from the fish.
Seasonings for Canh Chua
Fish sauce: Essential for Vietnamese and Southeast Asian cuisine, fish sauce provides umami flavor. I like to use the OGs of fish sauces. Viet Huong Three Crabs fish sauce is my go-to. It’s delicious and inexpensive. I also like to use Phu Quoc Flying Lion fish sauce.
Salt: Enhances the flavor of the other ingredients. I’m using fine sea salt.
Sugar: Counterbalances the tartness of the tamarind and adds sweetness to the soup. I’m using regular ole' granulated white cane sugar.
Chicken or mushroom bouillon soup base powder: Adds depth of flavor and makes the soup taste more authentic. I always have both chicken bouillon powder and mushroom seasoning powder for a vegetarian option on hand for Vietnamese home cooking. If you don’t want to use or don’t have these bouillon powders, feel free to leave out and replace with a smaller amount of salt instead.
Tamarind: Gives the soup its characteristic sour flavor. You can use either dried tamarind pulp or tamarind soup base powder. Both are readily available in Vietnamese/Asian supermarkets.
Tamarind pulp (recommended because there’s no other added ingredient other than tamarind)
Tamarind soup base powder (quick alternative)
Garnishes for Canh Chua
The garnishes are what truly elevate Canh Chua to culinary perfection. When soup is ready, it’s topped with aromatic herbs such as Thai basil leaves, rice paddy herb, or culantro, and a heap of freshly fried garlic. The resulting aroma is simply irresistible.
Just make sure to add the fresh herbs at serving. You don’t want to cook it as it will darken in hot broth and lose its amazing aroma.
Thai basil. The best kind of basil because it smells amazing! Forget the flower bouquet. I would like a bouquet of basil for Valentine’s Day.
Red Thai chili peppers. Frozen from last spring’s harvest. Great way to preserve them for the winter.
FAQs
Can I make Canh Chua ahead of time?
Yes, you can make the broth and cook the protein ahead of time. Add and cook the vegetables when you are ready to serve so they don’t get mushy.
I don’t have any of the fresh herbs you listed. Can I use something else that’s easier to find?
Thai basil is best but any other type of basil will do. Cilantro is the next best substitute. You can also simply omit it entirely but it won’t be as authentic and awesome.
I can’t find tamarind power or pulp. What can I use instead?
If you don’t have tamarind in any form, simply squeeze in lime or lemons for the tartness. Some people have used vinegar too and it works. But I would consider vinegar as my last resort.
Complete the Meal
Sour soup is traditionally served with caramelized claypot catfish (Ca Kho).
Looking for something else? Try these other popular side dishes:
Caramelized Pork Spare Ribs (Suon Khia or Suon Ram Man)
Caramelized and Braised Pork Belly with Eggs (Thit Kho Tau)
Ginger Chicken (Ga Kho Gung)
Lazy Pan-Fried Lemongrass Pork Ribs with Sweet & Savory Glaze
Caramelized Shrimp (Tom Rim)
Vietnamese Sweet and Sour Tamarind Fish Soup (Canh Chua Ca)
Ingredients
Instructions
- Clean and slice the fish. For whole fish, slice into 1-inch steaks with the backbone and skin attached to each steak. For fillets, cut into bite-sized chunks for a quicker cooking soup.
- To the bottom of a medium pot, heat oil. Add garlic and pan fry until golden brown. Toss for even cooking. Remove half to use as garnish. Carefully add water to a pot. Be careful of hot oil splatter. Bring the pot to a medium-low simmer.
- Add the catfish. Cook over a medium low simmer for 10 minutes, or until the fish is cooked through. Scoop out any scum that floats to the top and discard, if any.
- Add fish sauce, sugar, tamarind powder, bouillon powder, and salt. If using tamarind pulp instead of tamarind powder, strain the pulp through a small sieve directly in the hot water. Make sure to scrap the bottom of the sieve to get the strained pulp into the pot. Discard tamarind seeds and fibers, if any.
- Add tomatoes and okra/elephant ear stems and cook for 2 minutes max. Turn off heat.
- Add bean sprouts. The residual heat will cook the bean sprouts.
- Top with fresh herbs, chili peppers (optional) and reserved fried garlic when ready to serve.
Notes
Feel free to experiment with other vegetables in this soup. Some of my favorites include pineapples, different variety of mushrooms, and celery.
Nutrition Facts
Calories
253Fat
9 gSat. Fat
2 gCarbs
20 gFiber
2 gNet carbs
18 gSugar
15 gProtein
25 gSodium
768 mgCholesterol
57 mgThe values provided should be considered estimates. Factors such as brands purchased, natural variations in fresh ingredients, etc. will change the nutritional information in any recipe. To obtain accurate nutritional information for a recipe, use your preferred nutrition calculator to determine nutritional information with the actual ingredients and quantities used.
