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Preparation
10 minutes
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Cooking
30 minutes
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Difficulty
Easy
Not only delicious and nutritious for health, the sour fish soup with bamboo shoots is also incredibly refreshing for summer days. Let’s go shopping for ingredients with TasteVN and get into the kitchen to showcase this soup recipe for the whole family!
Ingredients for Sour Fish Soup with Bamboo Shoots Serves 4 people
Mackerel 300 gr (about 3 fish) Bamboo shoots 200 gr Okra 100 gr Tomato 1 piece Fresh chili 2 pieces Spring onion 1 stalk Shallot 2 bulbs Cooking oil 1/2 tablespoon Fish sauce 1 teaspoon Common spices a little (Salt/ sugar/ seasoning powder/ monosodium glutamate)
How to choose fresh ingredients
How to choose fresh mackerel
- Fresh mackerel should have a shiny, slimy body, and a bright color. The body of fresh mackerel is firm, and when held in the middle, it does not bend. Additionally, fresh mackerel has a characteristic fishy smell, without any unpleasant rotten odors.
- You should choose fish with bulging, clear, sparkling eyes, natural shiny scales. When pressed lightly on the fish’s flesh, it should be firm, with good elasticity, not leaving a fingerprint on the flesh.
- Avoid choosing mackerel that has a pale color, with a dull appearance. When held in the middle, the fish bends down, and the eyes are usually cloudy, making it hard to see inside because they have started to go bad.
How to choose delicious and quality sour bamboo shoots
- Delicious sour bamboo shoots, not soaked in chemicals will have an ivory white color.
- Choose pieces of bamboo shoots that are chewy, not easily broken, and do not have an overly shiny appearance.
- It is advisable to buy ones with a light, characteristic aroma of bamboo shoots and no chemical smell.
- If you find the sour bamboo shoots too soft, not intact, the soaking water has turned cloudy, has foam, and has an unusual smell, then do not choose to buy.
- Additionally, to ensure hygiene and safety, you can also make sour bamboo shoots right at home with the recipe shared by TasteVN.
How to choose fresh and delicious tomatoes
- You should choose tomatoes with a taut, plump skin, bright red and uniform color.
- Naturally ripened tomatoes usually have a light, pleasant aroma. While those that are artificially ripened have no aroma at all.
- You should choose tomatoes that still have the stem on, and the stem is still fresh, not wilted.
How to choose fresh and delicious okra
- Choose fresh, young okra pods that are small, have a beautiful shiny green color, and a thin layer of fine hairs on the outside.
- Gently press with your hand; if the skin feels crisp and firm, not soft or dented, then it is fresh, young okra.
- Do not choose pods that are soft or have bruises on the outside, as well as those that are too large, as they will be old okra and not tasty.
How to make Sour Fish Soup with Snakehead Fish and Sour Bamboo Shoots
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Prepare and Marinate the Fish
Shallots peeled, minced. Chili peppers stemmed, washed, and minced.
For the snakehead fish you bought, to remove the fishy smell, use 1 tablespoon of salt to rub evenly on the fish, let it sit for about 2 minutes then rinse the fish with clean water.
How to remove the fishy smell of snakehead fish:
- Method 1: Use salt or ginger water to rub all over the fish to reduce the fishy smell and slime, then rinse with clean water.
- Method 2: Wash the fish with lemon juice and rice vinegar, then rinse with clean water, which is also very effective in removing the fishy smell.
See details: 7 easy and effective ways to remove the fishy smell
Marinate the fish with 1/2 of the minced shallots, minced chili, 1 teaspoon of salt, and 1/2 teaspoon of seasoning powder. Mix well and let it sit for about 30 minutes for the fish to absorb the spices.
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Prepare Other Ingredients
Tomatoes washed, cut into wedges. Spring onions washed and chopped.
Sour bamboo shoots washed with water 2 – 3 times and drained. Okra washed and cut diagonally.
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Cook the soup
Place a pot on the stove over medium heat, add 1/2 tablespoon of cooking oil to the pot. When the oil is hot, add the remaining minced shallots to sauté until fragrant.
When the shallots are fragrant, add the tomatoes and stir-fry for about 2 minutes, then add 1 liter of water to the pot and bring to a boil.
When the water boils, add the marinated fish to the pot, cook for about 5 minutes on medium heat and season with 1 teaspoon of fish sauce, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, 1 teaspoon of seasoning powder, and 1 teaspoon of sugar.
After 5 minutes, add the bamboo shoots, okra, and chopped scallions, wait for it to boil again, taste and adjust seasoning, and turn off the heat.
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Finished Product
Sour soup with mackerel and sour bamboo shoots is refreshing, delicious, and sweet. The fish is firm, and the sweet and sour broth blends very well, making it flavorful. You can dip it with a bowl of spicy chili fish sauce to enhance the dish’s flavor.
On a hot sunny day, having a bowl of soup like this is unbeatable!
See more:
It’s not too difficult to make sour soup with mackerel and sour bamboo shoots for the whole family to enjoy, right? TasteVN wishes you success!
*Recipe and image source shared from Facebook: Trang Đinh
