Enjoy 2 delicious eel soup dishes that are fragrant and cooling, with an extremely simple recipe. Let’s get cooking with TasteVN and showcase your skills right away with 2 soup dishes for the whole family to enjoy!
1. Eel Soup
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Preparation
15 minutes
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Cooking
30 minutes
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Difficulty
Easy
Ingredients for Eel Soup Serves 4
Eel 1 kg Celery 30 gr Basil 1 sprig Water spinach 2 sprigs (pennywort) Tomatoes 6 fruits Bean sprouts 30 gr Pineapple 1/2 fruit (fragrant) Red onion 2 bulbs Garlic 2 cloves Lemongrass 3 stalks Chili 1 fruit Lime 1 fruit Cooking oil 1 tablespoon Fish sauce 1 tablespoon Common seasonings a little (sugar/salt/msg)
How to choose fresh and delicious ingredients
How to choose fresh and delicious pineapples
- Choose pineapples that have a bright yellow color from the crown to the tail, with a few eyes that may be slightly green; these are ripe fruits and will be sweet and tasty. Round, short pineapples will have more flesh compared to long-shaped ones.
- Choose pineapples with large, sparse eyes as this indicates that the pineapple is mature and naturally ripe, without any chemical treatment.
- You can try smelling the bottom of the fruit; if it has a sweet aroma, you should buy it. Additionally, avoid those that have a slightly sour smell, as this indicates that the pineapple is overripe.
- The greener the crown of the pineapple, the fresher it is. Overripe pineapples will have a dry or brownish crown.
- Choose fresh and delicious pineapples that are neither too hard nor too soft; when you press your finger into them, they should not feel indented.
See details: How to choose fresh and delicious pineapples
How to choose fresh and delicious tomatoes
- When buying tomatoes, observe and choose those with shiny skin, not too large, and with stems still firmly attached to the fruit.
- You should choose those that feel firm in hand and have a light fragrant smell. Ripe and delicious tomatoes will have yellow seeds inside and bright red flesh.
- Avoid those that are bruised, scratched, or without stems. Do not choose those that are too large and soft.
See details: How to choose fresh and delicious tomatoes
How to prepare Snakehead fish soup
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Prepare the snakehead fish
To clean the slime and fishy smell, after buying the snakehead fish, blanch it briefly in boiling water mixed with a little salt for about 5 minutes, then scrape off the scales, cut off the fins, head, and remove the intestines and blood vessels located in the fish’s spine.
Wash the fish several times with water and then let it drain.
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Prepare other ingredients
For the pineapple, you can buy a whole pineapple and peel it, removing the eyes, or buy one that has already been peeled at the market or food stores.
Cut the pineapple into bite-sized pieces and remove the core to make the pineapple softer when cooked.
Tips for the easiest way to peel pineapple
- First, cut the pineapple vertically from top to bottom into 4 equal parts.
- Continue to cut along the length of the pineapple piece, stopping at the end of the fruit and cutting firmly to separate the flesh from the skin.
- Do not cut too close to the skin to avoid leaving any pineapple eyes. Finally, cut into smaller pieces as needed.
Use a knife to peel the water spinach. Soak the water spinach in a basin of diluted saltwater, squeezing it evenly to remove dirt and soak for about 5 minutes, then rinse well with water.
Then cut the water spinach diagonally into pieces about 1 – 2 finger lengths.
How to prepare water spinach (amaranth) without itching:
- First, wash the water spinach to remove dirt, then peel off the outer fibrous part. After that, use a knife to cut off the belly of the water spinach and discard it.
- You should cut the water spinach into bite-sized pieces in a pointed shape. Next, mix 1 tablespoon of salt with the cut water spinach pieces and let it sit for about 15 minutes.
- Add cold water to the basin of water spinach soaking in salt, rinse it well, put on gloves, and use your hands to squeeze gently to drain the water.
- Finally, blanch briefly in boiling water before cooking.
Bean sprouts should be soaked in saltwater for about 15 minutes, then drained and blanched for about 1 – 2 minutes.
Tomatoes are washed and cut into wedges. Celery and basil are washed and chopped.
Peel the garlic and shallots, then chop finely along with lemongrass and chili. Cut the lime in half and squeeze out the juice.
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Cooking soup
Put the pot on the stove, add 2 liters of water and bring to a boil, then add the eel. Add 1/2 tablespoon of salt, 1/4 tablespoon of monosodium glutamate, and 2 tablespoons of sugar to the pot, then continue to boil until the fish is cooked and the water is boiling.
Tip: After the fish is cooked, you need to limit stirring multiple times to avoid breaking the fish.
When the water starts to boil, add the shredded gourd and pineapple to the pot and cook until the water boils again, then add the tomato wedges to the pot and cook for another 3 – 5 minutes.
Place a pan on the stove, add 1 tablespoon of cooking oil and heat it up, then add all the chopped onion, garlic, chili, and lemongrass to sauté until fragrant. When the ingredients are evenly golden and fragrant, pour the entire sautéed mixture into the sour soup pot.
Add another tablespoon of fish sauce and the freshly squeezed lemon juice into the pot. Stir well and cook for another 2 minutes, then turn off the heat.
Scoop the soup into a bowl, sprinkle with celery, basil, and chopped chili on top. Decorate it nicely to finish.
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Final Product
The hot and steamy eel soup is fragrant with smoke. When eaten, you will feel the sweet and tender fish meat, the sour broth along with various herbs and fruits served alongside will surely warm your stomach.
The dish will taste even better if you eat it with hot rice, dipping the fish in salty fish sauce with a bit of chopped chili!
2. Eel Soup with So Dua Flowers
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Preparation
15 minutes
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Cooking
30 minutes
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Difficulty
Easy
Ingredients for Eel Soup with So Dua Flowers Serves 4
Eel 500 gr So dua flowers 500 gr Sour tamarind 50 gr Basil 2 sprigs Vietnamese cilantro 2 sprigs Fish sauce 1 tablespoon Common spices a little (sugar/salt/pepper/MSG)
How to Choose Good So Dua Flowers
- You should choose firm, fresh so dua flowers that are bright white, not wilted or bruised.
- The so dua flowers should still be in bud, not fully bloomed. Make sure the buds are large, the stalks are dark green, and the flower petals are intact without falling off, which indicates good flowers.
How to Prepare Snakehead Fish for Sour Soup with Flower Sprouts
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Prepare the Snakehead Fish
After buying the snakehead fish, sprinkle some salt and squeeze 1 lemon over it, then soak the fish for about 5 minutes. Use a knife to scrape off the scales, cut off the head, fins, and tail, remove the intestines, and then wash the fish thoroughly with water and let it drain.
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Prepare Other Ingredients
After buying the flower sprouts, remove the inner stamens. Soak them in diluted saltwater for about 15 minutes, then rinse with cold water.
Tip
- You should remove the inner stamens of the flower sprouts as they will make the dish bitter and astringent.
- When preparing the flower sprouts, do it gently to avoid bruising.
Pick the tender leaves of the coriander and basil, wash them thoroughly with cold water, let them drain, and then chop them finely.
Dissolve 50g of dried tamarind with 100ml of boiling water, then crush it to extract the juice.
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Cook the soup
Place a pot on the stove, add about 3 liters of water and bring to a boil, then add the snakehead fish to the pot along with 1/2 tablespoon of salt, 3 tablespoons of sugar, 1/3 tablespoon of monosodium glutamate, 1 tablespoon of fish sauce, and the tamarind juice. Continue to simmer over medium heat until the water boils again.
When the water starts to boil, remove the snakehead fish from the pot.
Tip: When the water boils, you need to remove the snakehead fish immediately to avoid overcooking, which will make the fish meat fall apart.
Next, add the flower pods, chopped cilantro, and basil to the pot, cooking for another 2 – 3 minutes until the ingredients are just cooked through before turning off the heat.
Scoop the soup into a bowl, place the snakehead fish on top, sprinkle a little pepper and herbs, then garnish it nicely to complete.
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Final Product
With just a few simple steps, you can immediately have an attractive dish of eel soup with edible flowers. The sour broth is light and rich, combined with the sweet and fatty taste of the river eel, which is not fishy, and the edible flowers are crunchy and sweet, not bitter or mushy.
When eating, dipping it in spicy fish sauce along with a bowl of hot rice will definitely enhance the flavors of your meal!
How to Choose Fresh and Delicious Eel
- You should choose eels that have clear, shiny eyes, with bright red gills, shiny colors, and firm, elastic flesh.
- Avoid choosing eels with cloudy eyes, dark red gills, and flesh that feels mushy or crumbly when touched.
- Do not buy eels that have an unusual foul smell as they may have been dead for a long time or have gone bad.
See details: How to choose fresh fish
How to Clean Eel to Remove Slime and Odor
- You can use salt or lemon to scrub directly on the eel to remove the slime and clean it.
- Or use vinegar to spray on the eel’s body, wait a few minutes for the slime to harden, then use a knife to scrape it off.
See details: Effective ways to clean fish without odor
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I hope that with 2 dishes of eel cooked with sour soup, you have added another delicious recipe to treat your family in the upcoming meal. Wish you success!
*Refer to the recipe and images from the YouTube channel AN GIANG CUISINE VLOG and MienTayTV
