Recipe: Vietnamese Sour Tamarind Soup (Canh Chua)

It's amazing how, as a kid, you never question what you are eating. At least I didn't. I either liked it or didn't. It was that simple.

I didn't realize how little I knew about the dishes I grew up with until I started asking my mom or my aunt (who was like a mom to me) for the recipe, and then not knowing what half of the ingredients are. "What is that called in English?" I would ask. The answer back would always be, "I don't know, take a picture and go find out".

This Vietnamese sour tamarind soup was one of my favorite soups growing up. I loved the sour taste of the tamarind, combined with the sweet pineapple balanced with the shrimp and fresh veggies. I seldom use tamarind in my everyday cooking, so I was excited when I finally had a chance to use it.

Chinese brown sugar, one of the ingredients in this soup, is solid cane sugar sold in blocks. It is brown in color and rock hard. It is typically divided up into equal pieces.  The 65g of Chinese brown sugar called for in this recipe should be one full piece of the sugar sold in most packages.

This recipe yields 6-8 servings.

Vietnamese Sour Tamarind Soup (Canh Chua)
- 1 elephant ear stem, cut into 1/2 inch slices on an angle (if not easily accessible, substitute with 3-5 stalks of celery, sliced)
- 5 cups of bean sprouts
- 8-10 sprigs of rice paddy herb, roughly chopped with stems
- 2 large ripe vine tomatoes, roughly chopped
- 1 1/2 cups of fresh ripe pineapple chunks
- 1/2 lb of large shrimp with shell (approx 18-20)
- 824ml chicken broth
- 200g, 7 oz. block of tamarind me chua paste
- 6 cups of water
- 65 grams of Chinese solid brown sugar
- fish sauce or salt to taste
- fried shallots

Method
1. Prepare the tamarind soup base by dissolving the tamarind pulp in 3 1/2 cups of hot water in a pot. Heat the mixture on medium high heat for 8-10 minutes, breaking down the tamarind with a spoon or fork while it is heating. Once dissolved, the tamarind will turn into a thick dark paste. With a sieve, strain the seed and pulp to extract the tamarind water. Use a spoon to press the pulp to get more tamarind water.

2. In a large pot, combine 2 cups of the tamarind water, chicken broth and 2 1/2 cups of water, and bring to a boil. Add the solid brown sugar and mix until completely dissolved. Add the shrimp and let it boil until it is just cooked (approx 1-2 min). Take out the shrimp and set aside so they don't overcook. Turn off the heat. Your soup base in now ready. At this point, depending on your taste, you may want to add a bit more water to make it less sour, some fish sauce to add flavor and to make the soup saltier, or more tamarind water for a more sour taste. Everyone likes it slightly different.

3. This soup is meant to be enjoyed fresh and you only prepare it when you are ready to serve. For 1 individual bowl, in a pot, combine 1 cup of the tamarind soup base, 3 pineapple chunks, 3 tomato chunks, 5 slices of elephant ear stem, and bring the soup to a boil (2-3 minutes). Add a handful of the bean sprouts, 3-4 cooked shrimp and let it boil for another minute. Turn off the heat and pour the soup into a soup bowl. Garnish with rice paddy herbs and fried shallots. Enjoy the soup hot, plain or with white Jasmine rice. To prepare a larger bowl, simply scale up from the portions described above.

For extra flavor, you can prepare a small bowl of fish sauce mixed with sliced red Thai chiles and dip your shrimp into it. If you don't like shrimp, you can substitute it with white fish or chicken. Do not use beef. It will alter the taste of the soup.

Elephant Ear Stem

Ingredients for Sour Tamarind Soup

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Recipe: Sweet and Sour Pineapple Shrimp

This dish is so mind blowingly simple, you may just laugh. At least I did when I ate this dish and asked for the recipe. I asked at least 3 times, "That's it!? You don't put anything else in the sauce? Are you sure!?"

What makes the sauce sweet and sour is the ketchup. Yes, just plain 'ol ketchup. The tomato concentrate combined with the corn syrup and vinegar makes this a ready to use sauce for Asian dishes. Of all the ketchups on the market, Heinz ketchup has the sweet and sour proportions just right. Other ketchups seem to be either too sweet or not enough.

Sweet and Sour Pineapple Shrimp
- 20 large shrimp, de-shelled but with the shell still on the tip of the tail
- 1 cup of pineapple, cut into 1 inch pieces
- 1/2 green pepper, cut into 1.5 inch pieces
- 1 large onion, sliced into 1/4 inch slices
- 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
- 6 Tablespoons of Heinz ketchup
- 2 tsp of corn starch
- Extra virgin olive oil
- salt and pepper to taste

Method
1. If you are using frozen shrimp, simply place the shrimp in a bowl of water for 15 minutes and then de-shell. Mix the shrimp and corn starch until evenly coated. Set aside.

2. Once the onion is sliced, separate each layer by hand so that they become curved strips. In an oiled pan, on high heat, cook the onions and garlic for 2 minutes. Add the shrimp, and stir fry until 3/4 of the way cooked (approximately 3 minutes).

3. Turn the heat down to medium heat. Add the ketchup, green pepper and pineapple, and stir fry until the shrimp is completely cooked (approximately 2 minutes). Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve hot.

If you dont mind the work when eating, you can keep the shell on the shrimp to hold in more flavor. For a saucier dish, simply add more ketchup.

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Baked Blue Cheese Crab Cakes

While I was laying in bed one night, I thought to myself "ya know what, crab cakes would go really well with blue cheese".

Well, a few months later, I finally made it a reality. It took me a while but I finally did it. One warning to you though: please make sure you like blue cheese before you go and try this recipe. Blue cheese is an acquired taste, and it would be a shame to waste money and effort on these crab cakes to find out you don't really like blue cheese.

If you're not a blue cheese fan, go ahead and substitute for a cheese you do like. I'm sure it would be just as tasty.

This recipe yields about 10 crab cakes.

Baked Blue Cheese Crab Cakes
- 450g of lump crab meat
- 125g of a mild blue cheese, crumbled into small pieces
- 2 scallions, finely chopped
- 2 eggs, beaten
- 1 small red pepper, finely diced
- 1/2 cup of dried bread crumbs
- 1 Tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp old style grainy mustard
- 1 tsp of smoked paprika
- 1/4 tsp of cayenne pepper
- 1 Tbsp of vegetable oil
- dash of salt and pepper

Method
1. Preheat the oven to 375F/190C.

2. In a large mixing bowl, combine all of the ingredients and mix well. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. With your hands, shape the crab mixture into hockey puck shapes (approximately 3 inch diameter and 1 inch thick).

3. Place the crab cakes onto the baking sheet, setting them approximately 1 inch apart. Bake for 20 minutes. Set aside until cheese hardens a little bit. Serve warm. To add a bit more taste and color, you can pan fry the crab cakes before serving. I didn't bother, to keep it on the healthier side, but I contemplated it.

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Chinese Corn Soup

Soup season has officially started. With the cold weather, all I want to do is make soup. Warm, thick, hearty, make your heart feel good soups.

I try to make a different soup each week so that I don't get sick of my own cooking. This week, I made a Chinese corn soup. I used to have this as a kid when I used to visit my aunt. Years later, I finally got the recipe.

This soup is ridiculously easy to make. I love how it is both sweet and salty, and I also really like the crunchy bits of corn you get in every spoonful. This recipe uses shrimp, but you can easily substitute it for chicken or pork.

This soup is usually eaten as an appetizer, so the the serving size is smaller than normal.

This recipe yields 8-10 servings (depending on serving size)

Chinese Corn Soup
- 250g shrimp, de-veined and shells removed
- 2 cans (14 fl. oz, 398mL each) cream style corn
- 1 can (12 fl. oz, 341mL) whole corn kernels
- 3 cups of liquid chicken broth
- 3 tsp cornstarch
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1/4 tsp powdered chicken broth
- 1/8 tsp sesame oil
- 1/8 tsp white pepper
- 2 egg whites, lightly beaten
- salt and pepper to taste

Method
1. Cut the shrimp in 1/2 inch pieces. In a bowl, mix the shrimp, 2 tsp of cornstarch, powdered chicken broth, white pepper, sesame oil, and sugar until the shrimp pieces are evenly coated. Set aside to marinate. In a separate bowl, mix 1 tsp of corn starch with 1 tablespoon of cold water and stir until corn starch has dissolved.

2. In a pot over medium heat, combine the liquid chicken broth, cream style corn, and whole corn kernels until it just starts to boil. Stir occasionally. Add the shrimp and corn starch water, and stir frequently in one direction for 5 minutes or until the shrimp is cooked. Stirring frequently in one direction will prevent the corn starch from clumping. Turn off the heat.

3. Pour the egg white very slowly into the middle of the pot. With a fork immersed in the soup, beat the egg white as you are pouring it into the soup. This will break up the egg white and create a cloud like look. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve hot.

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Trout Stuffed with Prunes and Pomegranate

I've never been a fan of mixing meat with fruit. I've always believed that the two should be kept separate...until I started eating Persian food, that is. This dish combines fruit with fish, and if you are one of those meat/fruit haters like I used to be, believe me when I say this dish is good!

This healthy fish dish is baked with a prune, raisin, and pomegranate sauce stuffing. The pomegranate sauce adds a nice tangy flavor, and the herbs in the sauce provide texture. My mother-in-law likes to serve this dish with a dill + fava bean rice that pairs perfectly.

Pomegranate sauce can be found in most Persian grocery stores. It is a thick paste that is made purely from pomegranate juice. The pomegranate juice is reduced to create a molasses-like texture, and the paste is very dark in color.

This recipe yields 4 - 6 servings.

Trout Stuffed with Prunes and Pomegranate
- 2 trout fillets of equal size, approx 10 inches long and 0.6 kg total
- 1 cup of curly parsley, finely chopped
- 2 scallions, finely chopped
- 1/4 cup of pomegranate sauce
- 1/2 cup of prunes & sultana raisins combined (2 parts prune + 1 part raisin), roughly chopped
- extra virgin olive oil
- salt and pepper

Method
1. Preheat the oven to 350 F/175 C.

2. In a pan with some olive oil, sautee the parsley and scallions for 2 minutes. Add in the pomegranate sauce, prunes, raisins, a dash of salt + pepper, and sautee for 5 minutes. Set aside.

3. In a large baking dish, lay one trout fillet with skin facing down. Spread the pomegranate mixture evenly over top of the trout fillet. Place the second trout fillet on top of the mixture with skin facing up. Bake for 30 - 40 minutes. Remove from oven, remove the fish skin, and serve.

The picture below shows four trout fillets. Simply double the recipe to feed more mouths.

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Capellini Con Tonno

Sometimes, a can of flaked tuna can be a savior. All you have to do is open the can, and voila, it is ready. I like to make this pasta dish when I need a dose of meat protein, but don't feel like cooking any meat. Both the tuna and the beans in this dish provide a good source of protein.

If you don't feel like cooking the tomato sauce from scratch, you can always open a jar of prepared tomato sauce, and use that instead.

This recipe yields 4 servings.

Capellini Con Tonno
- 450 g dried capellini pasta
- 1/4 tsp dried oregano
- 1/4 tsp red chili flakes
- 1/4 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 cup of peas, frozen
- 5 vine ripened tomatoes, peeled and seeded
- 340g of canned light tuna in water, drained and flaked
- 1 can (156ml, 5.5 fl. oz) of tomato paste
- 1 can (540ml, 19 fl. oz) of Romano beans, drained
- 1 cup of water
- 1/2 cup of cilantro, finely chopped + extra for garnish
- 1 medium onion, finely chopped
- 3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
- 2 tsp of extra virgin olive oil
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 fresh lemon

Method
1. To peel the tomatoes, cut a small cross across the bottom of each tomato, and immerse them in boiling water for 2-3 minutes. Remove them from the water, and allow them to cool. The skin of the tomatoes should peel off very easily. Remove the seeds, and roughly chop.

2. Sautee the garlic and onions in a pan with the oil on high heat until onions are translucent.

3. Add the tomato paste, chopped fresh tomatoes, water, oregano and salt + pepper and stir until it bubbles. Turn the heat down to simmer, and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

4. Add the beans, frozen peas, tuna, chili flakes, and smoked paprika and simmer for 10 minutes. Turn off the heat.

5. In another pot, cook the pasta until al dente.

6. Drain the pasta, and serve with the sauce.

7. Garnish with chopped fresh cilantro, and squeeze fresh lemon juice over top of the dish.

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