Sour soup is a traditional soup familiar to Vietnamese families with many variations such as sour fish soup, sour fish cake soup, sour lotus stem soup,… Today, the Cooking section of TasteVN will introduce you to 2 easy-to-make delicious shrimp sour soup recipes at home!
1. Fragrant tomato shrimp sour soup
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Preparation
15 minutes
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Cooking
30 minutes
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Difficulty
Easy
Ingredients for Fragrant tomato shrimp sour soup For 4 people
Shrimp 200 gr Bean sprouts 300 gr Okra 100 gr Tomatoes 2 pieces Pineapple 1/4 piece (dứa/ khóm) Shallots 1 tablespoon (chopped) Garlic 2 tablespoons (chopped) Fresh chili 4 pieces Coriander a little Tamarind 2 tablespoons Cooking oil 2 tablespoons
How to choose fresh ingredients
How to choose good pineapple (dứa, khóm)
- Color: Choose fruits that have a bright yellow color from the stalk to the tip. There may be a few eyes that are slightly green, but uniformly yellow pineapples will be sweeter. Avoid choosing fruits that have uneven color, with dark brown spots or yellowish-red, as they are overripe. Also, do not choose pineapples that are still green because it will take a long time for them to ripen.
- Shape: Round and short pineapples will have more flesh compared to long, cylindrical ones.
- Skin: Overripe pineapple skin will be wrinkled. Good, fresh pineapples will not be too hard or too soft; pressing your finger into them should not result in a dent.
- Pineapple eyes: The larger and sparser the eyes, the better.
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Fragrance: Smell the stalk; if it has a pleasant aroma, choose it. Avoid those with little or no scent as they are not ripe. Do not choose fruits that have a slightly sour smell, as that indicates they are overripe.
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Pineapple crown: The greener the crown, the fresher and tastier the pineapple. If the pineapples are overripe, the crown will be dry or brown.
How to choose fresh tomatoes
- You should choose tomatoes with a bright red outer skin, evenly colored. The outer skin should be intact, without scratches, and plump, indicating fresh tomatoes.
- Natural ripe tomatoes usually have a mild fragrance that can be easily detected when smelled.
- When buying, you can gently pull to see if the stalk separates easily from the fruit; choose tomatoes that still have the stalk intact and fresh.
- Avoid tomatoes that are bruised, have scratched skin, holes, or lack a stalk or have a wilted stalk.
How to choose fresh and delicious okra
- It is advisable to choose fresh, young pods that are small in size.
- Avoid purchasing pods that are soft or have bruises, scratches, or holes on the outside.
- Do not choose pods that are too large, as they will be old okra and not taste good.
How to choose fresh and delicious bean sprouts
- Good bean sprouts have shiny seeds at the top, with no black spots, tightly attached to the stem, and with few roots.
- It is best to buy bean sprouts with a white, fresh stem, that are firm and not wilted.
- Avoid buying bean sprouts that have stems that are dull, slightly dark, or soft, as these are old and beginning to spoil. Do not choose bean sprouts with too many protruding roots, as they will not taste good.
- When purchasing, observe if the seeds at the top of the bean sprouts have black spots or are loose and no longer attached to the stem, which indicates that the sprouts are no longer fresh and should not be bought.
How to prepare fragrant sour shrimp soup with tomato
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Prepare the ingredients
Bean sprouts, okra, pineapple, tomatoes, and cilantro should be washed clean and drained.
Cut the okra into thin diagonal slices. Cut the pineapple into small triangular pieces. Remove the stem from the tomatoes and cut them into wedges.
For the shrimp, cut off the head up to the eyes, remove the legs, and wash them multiple times until clean, then place them in a strainer to drain.
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Sauté garlic oil
Place a pan on the stove, add 2 tablespoons of cooking oil to the pan, turn on medium heat until the oil is hot, then add minced garlic to sauté.
Continuously use chopsticks to stir evenly so that the garlic is fried golden and not burnt.
When you see the garlic has turned golden brown and emits a fragrant aroma, strain the garlic oil through a sieve to separate the oil and the sautéed garlic.
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Sauté shrimp
Continue by placing a pot on the stove, add 2 tablespoons of cooking oil to the pot and turn on high heat. When the oil is hot, add sliced shallots to sauté until golden and fragrant, then add 2 fresh chili peppers, remove the stems, crush them, and stir continuously. Finally, add the shrimp and stir well.
Season the shrimp with 1/2 teaspoon of seasoning powder, sauté the shrimp for about 5 minutes until the shrimp starts to turn orange and the meat is slightly firm.
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Cooking soup
When the shrimp is stir-fried and firm, add 2 liters of boiling water to the pot with the stir-fried shrimp, turn up the heat to bring the water back to a boil, then use a sieve to filter the tamarind. Depending on your family’s taste, filter the tamarind until the broth has the desired sourness!
Season the broth with 2 tablespoons of seasoning powder, a little monosodium glutamate, 1 teaspoon of salt, and 1.5 tablespoons of sugar, stirring well until the ingredients dissolve completely.
When the broth is boiling vigorously, add pineapple, tomatoes, and okra to the pot. Continue to cook the soup over high heat, and when white foam rises, use a ladle to skim it off.
After about 5 minutes, when the okra is translucent and slightly cooked, add the bean sprouts, stirring gently. When the water just boils again, taste and adjust the seasoning to your liking, then turn off the heat.
The heat of the broth in the pot will cook the bean sprouts just right, keeping them crispy and delicious, so you don’t need to cook the bean sprouts for too long as they will become mushy. When you see the bean sprouts are translucent and cooked to perfection, you can ladle the soup into bowls, add a little chopped cilantro, fried garlic, and a few slices of fresh chili on top, and enjoy!
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Final Product
Hot sour soup that can completely beat the summer heat! The broth is seasoned strongly, balancing the sourness and sweetness.
The bowl of soup is incredibly fresh with many types of vegetables, crunchy bean sprouts, and the natural sweet and sour taste of pineapple and tomatoes makes the dish even more attractive. The shrimp is sautéed to absorb the spices, firm and sweet, and when dipped in chili fish sauce, it perfectly complements the appealing sour soup.
This is an ideal dish to add to the daily meal menu of every family, especially on hot days. A bowl of hot white rice served with delicious sour soup will chase away the summer heat, refreshing your kitchen and your family meal!
2. Sour shrimp soup with water spinach
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Preparation
15 minutes
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Cooking
30 minutes
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Difficulty
Easy
Ingredients for Sour Shrimp Soup with Water Spinach For 2 people
Shrimp 200 gr Water Spinach 400 gr Tamarind 20 gr Minced garlic and onion 1 tablespoon Chili 1 piece Culantro 4 sprigs Vietnamese coriander 2 sprigs Fish Sauce 1/2 tablespoon Cooking Oil 2 tablespoons Common Seasoning a little (sugar/ salt/ seasoning powder)
How to Choose Fresh Water Spinach
- Good quality water spinach, grown naturally, will have stems as thick as a chopstick.
- You should choose to eat water spinach in the right season (from April to June) to avoid consuming water spinach that has been treated with chemicals when grown out of season.
- Avoid selecting stems that are unusually large, overly vibrant green, very crispy when bent, and leaves that are dark green.
How to Prepare Sour Shrimp Soup with Water Spinach
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Prepare the Ingredients
For the shrimp, cut off the head, tail, and legs, rinse thoroughly with cold water, and let drain.
For the water spinach, remove any wilted or damaged leaves, cut into suitable lengths, and rinse several times with water, then let drain.
For the culantro and Vietnamese coriander, remove the stems, wash thoroughly, let drain, and then chop finely.
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Sautéed Shrimp
Place a pot with 2 tablespoons of cooking oil on the stove over high heat. When the oil is hot, add minced garlic and shallots along with 1 smashed chili pepper. When the garlic and shallots are fragrant, quickly add the shrimp and stir-fry. Season the shrimp with 1/2 tablespoon of fish sauce and 1 teaspoon of salt, stirring until the shrimp turns orange and is cooked through.
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Cook the Soup
Once the shrimp is cooked and has turned orange, add 1 liter of boiling water to the pot and bring it to a boil over high heat.
When the water starts to boil, place tamarind in a strainer to extract the tamarind juice, adjusting the sourness to taste. Add 1 tablespoon of sugar and 1/2 tablespoon of seasoning powder to the broth, stir well, and adjust the seasoning to your liking. When the water is boiling vigorously, add the water spinach and cook for about 5 – 7 minutes until the greens are tender.
Add the chopped coriander and cilantro along with a few slices of fresh chili to the pot, let it cook for 1 minute for the herbs to wilt, then turn off the heat. The dish is ready to be served in bowls and enjoyed!
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Final product
Sweet and sour shrimp soup cooked with water spinach is a simple dish but has an extremely delicious and refreshing flavor. The shrimp are tasty and sweet, cooked with fresh green water spinach, which is cooked just enough to retain its appealing crispness.
The soup has a perfectly balanced sweet and sour taste, making it an extremely suitable dish to add to your family’s daily meal menu, especially on hot summer days.
How to choose fresh and delicious shrimp
- Fresh shrimp with a transparent outer shell and a slight smell of seawater, not fishy.
- Avoid buying shrimp that have dark spots or inconsistent colors.
- Fresh shrimp usually have their tails folded together. If the shrimp’s tail is spread out, it may have been injected with chemicals or water to make it plump.
- If you pick up the shrimp and notice it is slimy, and its body has bent into a circular shape instead of being straight as usual, then the shrimp is no longer fresh.
- Gently press your finger and move it over the shrimp’s shell; if you feel lumps like sand in the shell or if the shrimp is slimy, do not buy it.
Above is the article guiding 2 ways to cook sour shrimp soup deliciously, refreshing, and simply easy to make at home, extremely simple and easy to implement that anyone can do. Wishing you success with this recipe!
*Images and recipe referenced from the YouTube channel Bếp Của Vợ and Món Ngon Việt Nam.
