Canh Chua Gà (Chicken Sour Soup) is a traditional Vietnamese recipe for a classic sweet, sour and salty soup of chicken breast, vegetables and fruit served topped with mixed herbs and fried shallots. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic Vietnamese version of: Chicken Sour Soup (Canh Chua Gài).
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Ingredients:
500g chicken breast or thighs, cut into strips
3 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
1 taro stem (bac hà), peeled and sliced into thin pieces
225g beansprouts
1 celery stick, sliced thinly
1/2 pineapple, peeled and cut into bite-sized pieces
1 medium tomato, cut into bite-sized pieces
150g okra, topped and tailed then sliced tamarind extract
fish sauce
sugar
salt
Thai or jalapeo chillies, sliced into rings coriander leaves, chopped Thai basil, chopped saw tooth herb (ngò gai [long coriander]), chopped rice paddy herb (ngò om), chopped
fried shallots
oil for frying
Method:
To make tamarind extract soak 100g tamarind pulp in 250ml hot water). Break up the tamarind pulp then set aside to soak for 60 minutes. Strain and use the resultant tamarind juice to flavour the soup.
Heat 1 tbsp oil in a wok or pan, add the garlic and fry until fragrant then add the chicken pieces. Fry for a few minutes, or until the chicken pieces are lightly coloured then add 1l water and stir in sugar, fish sauce and salt, along with the tamarind juice to taste. Bring the resultant mixture to a boil then adjust the sweet, salty and sour flavours to suit your taste. Add the vegetables and fruit then bring the soup back to a boil.
Turn into a tureen or serving bowl. Garnish with the chopped herbs (about 2 tbsp of each), sliced chillies and fried shallots then serve.
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