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Preparation
20 minutes
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Cooking
30 minutes
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Difficulty
Easy
On hot days, enjoying a delicious and refreshing soup is unbeatable. Let’s cook with TasteVN and try making the simple and delicious lotus stem soup with shrimp to cool down on a hot day.
Ingredients for Lotus Stem Soup with Shrimp Serves 4
Lotus stem 300 gr Fresh shrimp 300 gr Salmon head 200 gr Celery 100 gr Water spinach 100 gr Sour vegetables A little (coriander/ mint) Chinese celery 50 gr Tomato 1 piece Tamarind water 50 gr Green onion 3 stalks Lemon 1 piece Chili 1 piece Garlic 1 bulb Red onion 1 bulb Fish sauce 1 tablespoon Dried chili salt 1 teaspoon Cooking oil 2 tablespoons Common spices A little (salt/ sugar/ monosodium glutamate)
How to choose fresh ingredients
How to choose fresh lotus stem
- Good lotus stem is one that is still fresh, with a stem that is not too thick or too thin.
- The stem of the lotus has a slightly dark color or is muddy, indicating that it has not been bleached and is safe to use.
How to choose fresh shrimp
- To choose fresh shrimp, you should look for a translucent shell that still has a slight smell of the sea, not fishy.
- Gently press with your finger and feel the shell; if it feels gritty or the shrimp is slimy, you should not buy it.
- Do not purchase shrimp that have dark patches or inconsistent coloring.
How to choose fresh salmon head
- To buy fresh salmon head, first observe the eyes, ensuring the head is bright and shiny.
- You should not buy salmon heads that have turned dark red or are pale.
How to choose fresh tomatoes
- You should buy tomatoes that are bright red and evenly colored. The outer skin should be intact, without scratches, and plump, indicating fresh tomatoes.
- Choose tomatoes that still have the stem attached, with the stem still fresh and not wilted.
- Do not buy tomatoes with wilted stems, uneven red color, damaged skin, and many scratches.
How to make Lotus Stem Soup with Shrimp
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Prepare the ingredients
Remove the shrimp heads, wash them thoroughly, and let them drain well.
Use a mixture of salt and vinegar to scrub the salmon head, then use a knife to scrape off the scales and slime, and cut into bite-sized pieces. Finally, rinse clean with water several times and let drain.
Tip to clean salmon heads without a fishy smell- You can soak the fish in a basin of water mixed with a bit of salt and lemon juice while using a knife to scrape off the scales and slime. After that, rinse with clean water and let drain.
- Use a mixture of salt and vinegar to scrub the fish and then use a knife to scrape off the scales and slime. Rinse again with water and let drain.
Cut the lotus stems into bite-sized pieces and soak them in a basin of water mixed with lemon juice for about 10 to 15 minutes.
Wash the cilantro, water spinach, tomatoes, and sour vegetables thoroughly. Then, cut the water spinach, cilantro, and sour vegetables into bite-sized pieces.
Wash the tomatoes, and cut them into wedges. Chop the shallots and garlic finely.
Wash the celery, separating the leaves and stems. For the stems, cut into pieces about the length of a finger.
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Fry the fish
Place the pan on the stove, turn the heat to high, add 2 tablespoons of cooking oil into the pan and wait for the oil to heat up.
Put the head of the salmon into the pan, fry briefly to eliminate the fishy smell.
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Cook the soup
Place a pot on the stove, set the heat to medium, then add a little cooking oil, and add chopped shallots and garlic into the pot, stir well.
When the shallots and garlic become fragrant, add tomatoes into the pot and sauté until the tomatoes release their juices and color.
Add about 1.5 liters of water into the soup pot, when the water boils, add the fried fish into the pot, then add the lotus stems.
Add to the pot: 1 tablespoon of fish sauce, 1 tablespoon of salt, 1 tablespoon of monosodium glutamate, 4 tablespoons of sugar, 1 teaspoon of chili salt.
Then, add shrimp, water spinach, celery stalks, and celery leaves into the soup pot.
When the water has boiled, add sour vegetables including cilantro and basil on top of the lotus stem soup.
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Final Product
So we have gone through the recipe for making the lotus stem soup with shrimp, delicious and refreshing for hot days. With crunchy lotus stem, sweet shrimp, along with salmon and water spinach, it will bring a unique and more appealing flavor to your family meal.
So we have finished reading the steps to make lotus stem soup with shrimp. Let’s get into the kitchen and prepare this delicious dish for our family!
*Refer to the recipe and images from the YouTube channel Long Lùng vlog
