Vietnamese Sweet & Sour Soup with Salmon (Canh Chua)

4.40 from 23 ratings

This is a modern take on a classic canh chua. It has salmon, pineapple, and ocra, all in a sweet and sour tamarind soup.

Prep Time20

Cook Time20

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Vietnamese

Keyword: canh chua, Vietnamese sweet and sour soup

Servings: people

Calories: 218kcal

Bring a pot of water to a boil. Add 1 lb of salmon to the boiling water and cook for 5 seconds. Take the salmon out and set aside. This will get rid of the unsavory fishy flavors in the salmon. Pour out the water.
Bring 8 cups of fresh water and 1 cup of chicken stock to a boil. Add in the salmon, packet of tamarind soup mix, 1 tbsp of fish sauce, 4 stalks of cut celery, 1 red pepper, 2 stalks of green onions, 2 tomatoes, 1 can of pineapple, and 4 okra. Cook for 5 minutes until the salmon is cooked through.
Taste the soup and adjust the seasoning to your taste. Add some salt if it tastes bland. If it is too salty, add some sugar to balance it out.
Top with cilantro and serve.

Boil the salmon to get rid of the fishy taste - Salmon often has an unsavory fish flavor that can throw off the balance of a broth. The best way to get rid of that flavor is to boil some water and let it cook for 5 seconds. That brief cooking time eliminates that fishy flavor.
Adjust the flavor to your tastes - Try the broth before you serve it. If it is too salty, add some sugar. If it is too sweet, add some salt. The key to this broth is a balance of both salty and sweet.
Using fresh tamarind - Traditionally, this soup is made with fresh tamarind. I like to use tamarind soup mix because it's easier to find and easier to use. Fresh tamarind has a solid shell with seeds and pulp on the inside. If you choose to use tamarind, add it to a bowl with boiling water. Then strain it through a fine mesh sieve into your broth.
What do you serve this soup with? - This soup is typically served with white rice and Vietnamese caramelized catfish (ca kho to). You can also serve it with other grains like brown rice, red rice, or quinoa.