Canh Chua Ca

Ingredients

• 600 g catfish or snakehead fish steaks, about 2 cm thick
• 1.2 litres water or light fish stock
• 3 tbsp tamarind concentrate, or 50 g tamarind pulp soaked in 150 ml hot water
• 200 g fresh pineapple, cut into thin wedges
• 3 tomatoes, cut into wedges
• 2 stems bac ha (elephant ear stem), peeled and sliced on the diagonal
• 8 okra, sliced on the diagonal
• 150 g bean sprouts
• 3 tbsp fish sauce
• 2 tbsp sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
• 3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• 2 tbsp neutral oil
• 1 large handful rice paddy herb (ngo om), chopped
• 1 small handful sawtooth coriander (ngo gai), chopped
• 2 red chillies, sliced
• 2 spring onions, sliced
• Steamed jasmine rice, to serve
• 3 tbsp fish sauce with sliced chilli, to serve

Before you cook

• Rinse the fish steaks and pat them dry, then rub them with the 1 tsp of salt and the black pepper.
• Peel the bac ha stems, slice them on the diagonal and rub them with a pinch of salt, then rinse them well.
• Cut the pineapple into thin wedges and the tomatoes into wedges.
• Chop the rice paddy herb and sawtooth coriander.
• Slice the garlic thinly.

Steps

1. Heat the 2 tbsp of oil in a small pan over medium heat.
2. Fry the sliced garlic for 90 seconds until it is pale gold, then lift it out onto paper and set it aside.
3. Bring the 1.2 litres of water or stock to a simmer in a large pot.
4. Stir in the tamarind concentrate, the fish sauce and the sugar.
5. Add the pineapple wedges and simmer for 4 minutes so they release their sweetness.
6. Taste the broth now and adjust the tamarind and sugar until it is sharply sour with a clear sweet backbone.
7. Slide the fish steaks in gently and bring the pot back to a bare simmer.
8. Poach the fish for 6 minutes without stirring, so the steaks stay whole.
9. Add the tomato wedges and the sliced okra and cook for 3 minutes.
10. Add the bac ha and cook for just 2 minutes so it stays spongy and crisp.
11. Scatter the bean sprouts over the surface and turn the heat off immediately.
12. Stir in the rice paddy herb and sawtooth coriander.
13. Ladle the soup into a large serving bowl, lifting the fish out first so it does not break.
14. Spoon the fried garlic and its oil over the top.
15. Scatter the sliced spring onion and chilli over the soup.
16. Serve with steamed rice and a small dish of fish sauce with chilli for dipping the fish.