🍲 Canh chua (Vietnamese sour fish soup)

Name: Canh chua (Vietnamese sour fish soup)
Total time: 40 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Vietnam · Mekong Delta
Ingredients: 500 g white fish fillets or steaks; 2 tbsp tamarind pulp soaked in 100 ml hot water, strained; 150 g fresh pineapple, sliced; 2 tomatoes, cut into wedges; 150 g bean sprouts; 1.2 l water; 1 tbsp fish sauce, 1 tsp sugar, salt; 1 tsp oil and 2 garlic cloves, chopped; Fresh herbs: coriander, Thai basil, rice paddy herb, sliced chilli

Origin: Vietnam · Mekong Delta

320kcal

per serving · 400 g

80kcal

per 100 g

32 gProtein8 g / 100 g

6 gFat1.5 g / 100 g

32 gCarbs8 g / 100 g

Canh chua is a light, tangy Vietnamese soup of white fish simmered in a tamarind broth with pineapple, tomato and bean sprouts. It balances sour, sweet and savoury, and is finished with a generous handful of fresh herbs such as rice paddy herb, coriander and Thai basil. It is usually served with steamed rice as part of a family meal.

Diets

✓

No pork

✓

Gluten-freeno wheat, barley or rye in a typical recipe

✓

Dairy-freeno milk, cheese, butter or yogurt in a typical recipe

✓

Low-carb8 g carbs per 100 g

Not vegetarianbecause of: white fish

Not veganbecause of: white fish

Allergens

Contains (in a typical recipe):

⚠ Fish

What it is made of

white fishpineappletomatotamarindbean sproutsherbs

Recipe

4 servings40 min

Ingredients

500 g white fish fillets or steaks
2 tbsp tamarind pulp soaked in 100 ml hot water, strained
150 g fresh pineapple, sliced
2 tomatoes, cut into wedges
150 g bean sprouts
1.2 l water
1 tbsp fish sauce, 1 tsp sugar, salt
1 tsp oil and 2 garlic cloves, chopped
Fresh herbs: coriander, Thai basil, rice paddy herb, sliced chilli

Method

Bring the water to the boil with the tamarind liquid, sugar and fish sauce.
Add the fish and simmer gently for 8–10 minutes until just cooked.
Add the pineapple and tomato and cook for 3 minutes, then add the bean sprouts and turn off the heat.
Fry the garlic in the oil until golden and pour over the soup. Finish with the herbs and chilli and serve with rice.

How to make it lighter

The soup itself is light — the rice is where most of the calories are, so keep that portion modest.
Fry the garlic in just a teaspoon of oil or skip frying it altogether.
Add extra vegetables such as okra or tomatoes to make it more filling.

History

Canh chua is closely associated with the Mekong Delta in southern Vietnam, where freshwater fish, tamarind and tropical fruit are plentiful. Catfish and snakehead are common local choices. Today it is an everyday home soup across southern Vietnam and in Vietnamese restaurants abroad.

Count it in one photo

Point your camera at the table — Me Nutrition recognises Canh chua (Vietnamese sour fish soup) and every other dish, with calories and macros for each. Ate only half? Slide it.

Download on the App Store

Similar dishes

Values are estimates per 100 g for a typical recipe; home and restaurant versions vary. Diets and allergens are worked out from the ingredients of a typical recipe — always check with whoever cooked the dish. Not medical advice. Nutrition data: Me Nutrition dish database v13. How we count →