Sweet and sour soup is one of the soup dishes that is very popular due to its sweet and sour flavor, which stimulates the taste buds, especially since sweet and sour soup can be made with various ingredients. Today, TasteVN will accompany you in the kitchen to guide you on 2 delicious ways to cook sweet and sour fish soup!
1. Sweet and sour fish soup
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Preparation
20 minutes
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Cooking
50 minutes
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Difficulty
Easy
Ingredients for Sweet and sour fish soup Serves 4
Barramundi 1 fish (about 1 kg) Tomatoes 3 fruits Water celery 200 gr (mint) Butterfly pea flower 100 gr Okra 100 gr Lemongrass 3 stalks Vietnamese coriander 4 stalks (rau ngổ) Cilantro 4 stalks (mùi tàu) Thai hot pot seasoning 1 packet (55gr) Salt/Sugar a little
How to choose fresh ingredients
How to choose fresh tomatoes
- You should choose tomatoes with smooth skin, plump and juicy, bright red color, and green stems.
- Avoid choosing those that are bruised or have small black spots, or have uneven coloring with both green and red.
- If you touch them and they feel too soft or too hard, or if juice comes out, don’t buy them; they may be spoiled.
How to choose delicious water spinach (dọc mùng)
- Choose fresh water spinach with a light green, smooth skin that is not rough, and the skin should not be peeling off.
- You should select plants that are whole and dry, avoiding those that have been cut, and steer clear of plants that are bruised or show signs of damage.
How to choose fresh and delicious lotus flowers
- You should select flowers that are just beginning to bloom, freshly picked, intact, and not bruised or infested.
- Avoid choosing fully bloomed flowers as well as those that are still green, as they will be less tasty.
How to choose fresh and delicious okra
- Choose fresh, young okra pods that are small in size, have a beautiful glossy green color, and a thin layer of fine hairs on the outer skin.
- Avoid buying soft pods or those with bruises on the outside, as well as pods that are too large, which will indicate they are overripe and not tasty.
- Gently press with your fingers; if the skin feels crisp and firm without being soft or dented, it means the okra is fresh and young.
How to prepare Sour Snakehead Fish Soup
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Prepare the snakehead fish
To eliminate the fishy smell of snakehead fish, when you bring it home, clean the scales, gut it, and remove the internal organs, cleaning the blood from the back. Then, rub salt gently over the fish to remove the slime, rinse thoroughly 2 – 3 times with water, and let it drain.
Cut the fish into bite-sized pieces, about 2 fingers long or according to your preferred size.
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Prepare other ingredients
Wash the tomatoes clean and cut them into wedges. Remove the old and spoiled flowers from the water lily and rinse it clean, then drain. Wash the okra and cut it diagonally.
Wash the cilantro and the rice paddy herb and then chop them finely. Cut the lemongrass into segments and crush it.
Use a knife to peel the skin off the angled luffa. Soak the angled luffa in a bowl of diluted salt water to remove dirt and soak for about 5 minutes, then rinse with water and cut diagonally about 1 finger length.
How to prepare angled luffa without itching:
- First, wash the angled luffa to remove dirt, then peel off the outer fiber. After that, use a knife to cut off the belly part of the angled luffa and discard it.
- You should cut the angled luffa into bite-sized pieces in a pointed shape. Next, mix 1 tablespoon of coarse salt with the cut angled luffa pieces and let it sit for about 15 minutes.
- Add cold water to the bowl of salted angled luffa, rinse it clean, wear gloves, and gently squeeze to remove excess water. Finally, briefly blanch in boiling water before cooking.
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Cook the sour soup
Put a pot on the stove over medium heat, add 2 liters of water and bring it to a boil.
Then add the Thai hot pot seasoning packet and lemongrass to the pot and season with 2 tablespoons of sugar, adjusting the seasoning to your family’s taste.
Once the water boils again, add the barramundi and cook for about 5 minutes until the fish is cooked.
Tip:
- You should only add the fish to the pot when the water is boiling to avoid the fish becoming fishy.
- If you want to make the soup more visually appealing, you can sauté the tomatoes first before adding water to cook.
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Completion
Next, add tomatoes, water morning glory, and okra and cook for another 3 – 4 minutes, then add the yellow flower, gently stir with a ladle until the soup boils again, then turn off the heat.
Scoop the soup into a bowl, add coriander on top, and enjoy.
Tip: When adding the yellow flower, stir gently and then turn off the heat, do not cook any longer as the yellow flower can become soft and mushy.
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Final Product
The sour soup with striped catfish features a delicious sweet and sour broth, with fish cooked just right, tender, not mushy or fishy, along with the attractive colors of tomatoes, okra, and mint. Dipping the fish in fish sauce will make this dish very rice-consuming!
2. Sour Soup with Barramundi and Pickled Bamboo Shoots
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Preparation
15 minutes
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Cooking
25 minutes
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Difficulty
Easy
Ingredients for Sour Soup with Barramundi and Pickled Bamboo Shoots For 4 people
Barramundi 1 fish (about 1.2kg) Pickled bamboo shoots 400 gr Green onion 4 stalks Common spices a little (Salt/sugar/monosodium glutamate)
How to choose good pickled bamboo shoots
- When buying pickled bamboo shoots, choose shoots with a light yellow outer skin, a characteristic fragrant smell, and not floating on the surface. Additionally, bamboo shoots that are not soaked in chemicals will not be overly shiny and will not look appealing.
- You should avoid pickled bamboo shoots that have a foul smell, an outer skin that is unusually white or brownish-yellow, or has spots or is crushed.
- You can buy pickled bamboo shoots from stores or easily make them at home.
How to prepare Sour Soup with Barramundi and Sour Bamboo Shoots
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Prepare the Barramundi
To eliminate the fishy smell of the barramundi, when purchasing, you should clean the scales, gut it, and remove the internal organs, ensuring to clean the blood along the backbone. Then, use salt to gently rub the fish to remove the slime, rinse thoroughly 2 – 3 times with water and let it drain.
Cut the fish into bite-sized pieces, about 2 finger lengths or according to your preference.
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Prepare the other ingredients
For the sour bamboo shoots purchased whole, rinse them with water. Boil a pot of water and then add the bamboo shoots to cook for about 10 – 15 minutes on low heat. After boiling, remove the bamboo shoots, rinse with water, and let them drain. Next, use a peeler to slice the bamboo shoots into thin pieces.
If using pickled bamboo shoots with garlic and chili slices, to reduce the sourness and remove dirt, simply rinse them with water 2 – 3 times and then let them drain.
Wash the green onions and cut them into pieces.
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Cooking the soup
You place a pot on the stove over medium heat, add 4 liters of water and bring it to a boil. Next, add the barramundi fish and cook for about 5 minutes until the fish is cooked.
Season with 1 teaspoon of monosodium glutamate, 1 tablespoon of salt, 1 teaspoon of sugar, taste and adjust the seasoning to your preference, then add the sour bamboo shoots and cook for an additional 2 minutes.
Finally, add the scallions, stir gently and turn off the heat.
Tip: During the cooking process, skim off the foam to ensure the soup is flavorful and the broth is clearer.
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Final product
The sour barramundi soup with sour bamboo shoots features tender, fatty, sweet, and delicious fish, while the crispy sour bamboo shoots combine with the sour and sweet broth, creating a rich flavor.
This soup is best enjoyed with a dipping sauce of fish sauce accompanied by a few slices of chili to enhance the flavor, and it goes well with hot rice or fresh noodles.
How to choose fresh and delicious barramundi fish
- For whole fish, you should choose those that are healthy and move flexibly. Delicious barramundi usually has a slightly large head and a pointed snout.
- You should also pay attention to choosing fish with intact dorsal and tail fins. Good fish also has a round tail, a gray body, and a naturally silver belly.
- For filleted fish, choose pieces that have a light pink color, not too dark or too pale. The flesh should have good elasticity and especially should not be leaking fluids or have a foul smell.
How to clean barramundi fish without any fishy smell
- When you buy barramundi, scale it, gut it, and remove the internal organs. Use lemon to gently rub the surface of the fish to remove the slime, then rinse immediately with water. Do not rub the lemon for too long as it will cook the fish’s skin.
- If you don’t have lemon, you can rub it with salt or wash the fish with cold water mixed with a bit of alcohol or vinegar.
- Make sure to clean the blood along the fish’s backbone to reduce the fishy smell.
- Continue rinsing the fish with clean water once more, then place it in a colander to drain.
- Additionally, you can also buy pre-cleaned fish at the supermarket or reputable food stores to save time.
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This weekend, take some time to try 2 ways to make Barramundi fish cooked with sour soup that you just shared to enhance the flavor of your family meal! Wishing you success!
*Refer to images and recipes from YouTube channel: Tigon Luu, Thi Trần Family- Cuộc Sống Hà Tiên
