Hot pot night with Vietnamese sweet and sour soup (Canh chua)

Hot pot holds a special place in my heart. It is not just a dish full of flavors but also loaded with memories. During the rainy days, after school, me and my dearest friends sat around the steamy pot of sweet and sour soup (Canh chua) with the tilapia fish as protein source. One pot was never enough so we always asked for refills because the stories and gossips spilled were never end.

The weather in AZ is getting colder, which is perfect for a hot pot night. Instead of going out for the hot pot, this time I introduce my husband and my friends to Vietnamese hot pot. And it’s also an excuse for me to use the brand new pot we got just for this occasion. Since we have a hot pot with divider and a mini gas stove, having hot pot at home is totally possible, more delicious and cheaper than at restaurants. I made two types of broth: the broth from Vietnamese Spicy Beef Noodles Soup and the Vietnamese Sweet and Sour Soup (a.k.a Lẩu Canh Chua, the national favorite, haha!), which is our today’s recipe.

Ingredients in “Canh Chua”:

Broth

Any broth or stock is fine with the recipe. I used vegetable stock for this recipe as my friend is vegetarian. Plus, it is easier for the seasoning steps later on as the vegetable stock has a neutral taste.

Protein source

The soup goes well with shrimps and fish. The one I had with my friends in the past were with whole tilapia fish; my family used shrimps or snakehead fish (cá lóc). The vegetarian/vegan version will have different types of mushrooms: enoki mushrooms, shiitake mushrooms, king oyster mushrooms. Baby bella, portobello or white mushroom (the common types in American grocery stores) are not recommended for this type of soup.

Herbs/Vegetables

There are some herbs and vegetables required for the soup: culantro (ngò gai), rice paddy herb (rau om), elephant ear plant (bạc hà), okra (đậu bắp), and bean sprouts (see photos below). The sourness from tomatoes, pineapples and tamarind is balanced with sugar.

These herbs can be bought at Vietnamese grocery market (not all Asian stores will have all of these herbs).

So let’s make it! Please note that the version below is the vegetarian/vegan version but you can always add fish and shrimps for your liking.

Ingredients: (for 4 servings)

• Vegetable stock: 8 cups
• Shiitake mushrooms: 6 whole mushrooms
• King oyster mushrooms: 3 whole mushrooms
• Enoki mushrooms: 1 pack
• Tomato: 2 – 3 beefsteak tomatoes (4 – 6 if you use Roma tomatoes)
• Pineapple (diced): 1 cup
• Culantro (diced): 2 cups
• Elephant ear plant (sliced): to taste (I love elephant ear plant so I used up all in the package I bought)
• Okra: to taste
• Rice paddy herb: around 5 – 10 stems, chopped (note that this herb has some bitter taste so only add them if you like)
• Garlic: 5 cloves
• Fresh Thai chili (optional): 2 – 3 chilies (only use if you prefer some heat in the soup)
• Cooking oil: 1 tablespoon (to sauté the garlic)
• Seasoning:
  • Tamarind paste: 3 tablespoons
  • Sugar: 3 tablespoons
  • Salt: 3 teaspoons
  • Mushroom bouillon powder: 1 teaspoon
• Rice noodles, instant noodles, mung bean vermicelli and rice can be served with the soup.

Preparation:

• Prepare the herbs and vegetables (they can be prepared ahead of time. I actually had them ready a day before our hot pot night):
  • Rinse, drain and pad dry the herbs and vegetables.
  • Peel off the green skin of the elephant ear plant then thin slice them.
  • Dice the culantro and rice paddy herbs into short pieces.
  • Thin slice the okra.
  • Dice the pineapple in to bite-size pieces.
  • Cut the tomatoes into wedges.
• Heat up a large pot on medium-high heat. Add in the cooking oil.
• While waiting for the oil to get hot, slice the mushroom and roughly chop the garlic. Add the garlic to the hot oil, stir around until fragrant first, then add in the tomato wedges, the mushrooms and sauté until soften. (Enoki mushrooms are usually set aside for dipping in the hot pot later)
• Add in the vegetable stock. When the broth is boiling, reduce the heat to medium and add in the vegetables (except for the culantro and bean sprouts) as well as the seasoning above (tamarind paste, salt, sugar, mushroom bouillon powder).
• When the soup is boiling back, turn off the heat and add in the chopped culantro and bean sprouts so the texture and color can be preserved.
• The soup is ready to be served with noodles (or rice) of your choice!

Total time: 1 hour (including the prep time)

Notes:

• If you want to use shrimps, swap the mushroom with them. For fish, it is trickier. Sear the fish first prior adding it to the soup once the broth is boiling to avoid the unsavory fishy smell.
• Vietnamese grocery stores often sells the seasoning pack for this dish. You can use them and adjust to taste. Some seasoning paste might be a bit spicy.

And that’s it for the Vietnamese Sweet and Sour Soup (Lẩu Canh Chua)! My husband liked it, our friends loved it! And I hope you would, too!

Thanks for reading my first recipe after such a long hiatus!
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And here are some snapshots of our hot pot night last weekend! I added shrimps and beefs for the guys.