Cook’s notes
Fans of sinigang will either love this or hate this — no in-between.
The sourness of the tamarind juice is there and well-pronounced, and that’s something that hardcore sinigang lovers will appreciate. The boldness. The tenacity. That feeling that one’s taste buds had been jolted into attention.
But because the acidic tamarind juice mingles with the subtle sweetness of the pineapple, it hits the palate differently. As the broth flows through the mouth and down the throat, there is no sharpness because the natural sugar in the pineapple balances the acidity of the tamarind juice to create a flavor that’s softer and mellow — and sinigang lovers will likely disapprove.
Me? Oh, I love this soup. I am thinking that whole shrimps or chicken or pork can replace the salmon, and the soup will be just as stunning.
But the best thing about this soup is you can actually control the balance between sour and sweet by just modifying the amount of tamarind juice or pineapple chunks. If you need help with the tamarind juice part and cutting a whole pineapple, see the linked posts below.
Vietnamese-style sweet sour salmon soup
Ingredients
- 3 salmon steaks (one-inch thick)
- fish sauce
- 2 cups diced tomatoes
- 1 cup diced bell peppers
- 1 stalk celery sliced
- 4 to 6 okra trimmed and sliced
- 3 to 4 cups fresh pineapple chunks
- ½ to 1 cup tamarind juice
- cilantro
Instructions
- In a pot, boil four cups of water, drop in the salmon, and pour in two tablespoons fish sauce.
- Boil the fish just until done, about five minutes.
- Scoop out the fish, and break the flesh into chunks as you separate it from the bones.
- Put the fish bones back into the pot and simmer for ten minutes.
- Strain the liquid; discard the bones.
- Place the tomatoes, bell peppers, celery, okra and pineapple chunks in a clean pot, and pour in the fish stock, tamarind juice and another tablespoon of fish sauce.
- Bring to the boil, cover and simmer for ten minutes or just until the okra is done.
- Add the salmon chunks into the pot and continue simmering just until the fish is heated through.
- Taste, stir in more fish sauce if needed, garnish with cilantro and serve.
Katsudon