Tastetutorial.com will share with you the secret to serving your family 2 delicious and simple recipes for sour fish soup made with red tilapia, which is sure to become a favorite dish for everyone. Let’s get cooking right away!
1. Sour Red Tilapia Soup
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Preparation
45 minutes
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Difficulty
Easy
Ingredients for Sour Red Tilapia Soup Serves 3
Red tilapia 1 fish Tomatoes 2 pieces Pineapple 1/4 fruit (dứa) Bean sprouts A little Vietnamese balm 1 stalk (dọc mùng) Okra 8 pieces Tamarind 30 grams Culantro 4 stalks Vietnamese coriander 4 stalks (rau ngổ) Shallots 1 bulb Fish sauce 1 tablespoon Cooking oil 1 tablespoon Common spices A little (salt/pepper/sugar/seasoning)
Implementation tools
How to choose fresh ingredients
How to choose fresh tomatoes
- You should choose tomatoes that have smooth, shiny skin, are plump and juicy with bright red color, and have green stems.
- Avoid choosing those that are bruised or have small black spots, or have uneven colors of both green and red.
- If you touch them and they feel too soft or too hard, or if juice comes out, you should not buy them, as they may be spoiled.
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How to choose good pineapples
- The pineapple should have an even yellow color; the darker the yellow, the sweeter the pineapple. Depending on your preference, you can choose the desired level of sweetness.
- You should choose pineapples with large eyes and round shapes, as they typically have more flesh and are juicier than long-shaped ones. Those with large eyes are usually easier to clean and save time.
- Choose pineapples that are intact, not bruised or darkened, and avoid selecting those that are too soft.
How to choose fresh okra
- Choose fresh, young okra pods that are small in size, have a beautiful shiny green color, and feature a thin layer of fuzz on the outer skin.
- Avoid purchasing pods that are soft or have dark spots on the outside, as well as those that are too large, which indicates they are old and not tasty.
- Gently press with your finger; if the skin feels crisp and hard, not soft and indented, it means the okra is fresh and young.
How to make Sour Fish Soup with Red Tilapia
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Prepare the ingredients
Pineapple, shallots, and cilantro are washed and chopped finely. Tomatoes are cut into wedges. Okra is washed and sliced diagonally.
Tamarind is mixed with 100ml of hot water, then use a spoon to mash the tamarind, and remove the seeds.
Use a knife to peel the mint leaves. Place the mint in a bowl of diluted salt water to remove dirt and soak for about 5 minutes, then rinse with clean water. After that, cut the mint diagonally into pieces about the length of a finger.
How to prepare mint without itching:
- First, wash the mint to remove dirt, then peel off the outer fibers. After that, use a knife to cut off the belly part of the mint and discard it.
- You should cut the mint into bite-sized pieces in a slanted shape. Next, mix 1 tablespoon of coarse salt with the cut mint pieces and let it sit for about 15 minutes.
- Add cold water to the bowl of mint soaking in salt, rinse thoroughly, wear gloves, and gently squeeze to drain the water. Finally, blanch briefly in boiling water before cooking.
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Preparation of red tilapia
To clean and remove the fishy smell from the red tilapia, first, scale the fish, remove the fins, gut it to take out all the internal organs, wash and rub it with salt for about 10 minutes, then rinse it with water and cut it into slices about 2 finger joints thick.
How to clean red tilapia properly without a fishy smell
- First, clean the fish by scaling and gutting it thoroughly. Make sure to cut away any clotted blood and cloudy white spots in the fish’s belly.
- Eliminate the fishy smell by rubbing coarse salt onto the fish for about 10 minutes and rinsing it with water. Alternatively, you can dilute lemon juice and a little salt in water, then soak the fish for about 10 minutes before rinsing it clean.
- You can also use vinegar or white wine to wash the fish, which will effectively help to remove the fishy smell!
See details: How to prepare fish clean without a fishy smell
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Cook the soup
Place a pot on the stove and add 1 tablespoon of cooking oil to the pot, when the oil is hot, add the shallots and sauté until fragrant.
Add 2 liters of water to the pot, when the water boils, add the fish, cook for about 8 – 10 minutes until the fish is cooked, then add tomatoes and tamarind juice, cook for another 5 minutes, then add mint and okra to the pot and continue to cook for another 5 minutes.
After 5 minutes, season the pot with 2 tablespoons of sugar, 1 teaspoon of salt, 1 tablespoon of fish sauce, 1 teaspoon of seasoning powder, 1/3 teaspoon of pepper, adjust the seasoning to suit your taste, then add bean sprouts, scallions, and cilantro, then turn off the heat.
Note:
- You should only add the fish to the pot when the water is boiling to avoid the fish from being fishy.
- If you want to add color to the soup, you can sauté the tomatoes briefly before pouring in the water to cook.
- When adding bean sprouts, turn off the heat, do not cook further as the bean sprouts will easily become soft and mushy.
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Final product
The sour soup with red tilapia has a sweet and sour broth from tamarind, the fish is just cooked, not mushy or fishy, along with the attractive colors of pineapple, tomatoes, okra, and mint, dipping the fish in fish sauce promises to be very rice-consuming!
2. Sour soup with red tilapia cooked with vinegar
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Preparation
10 minutes
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Cooking
25 minutes
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Difficulty
Easy
Ingredients for Sour soup with red tilapia cooked with vinegar For 2 people
Red tilapia 1/2 fish (about 300g) Water spinach 300 g (dọc mùng) Green onions 2 stalks Vinegar 3 tablespoons Fish sauce 3 tablespoons Cooking oil 2 tablespoons Common spices a little (salt/ seasoning powder/ monosodium glutamate)
Utensils needed
Ingredient images
How to cook Sour soup with red tilapia cooked with vinegar
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Prepare the ingredients
Remove the outer skin from the water spinach, wash it clean, cut into small pieces, then soak in salt water for 5 – 10 minutes, squeeze out the salt water and let it drain.
Wash the green onions clean and cut them small.
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Prepare the tilapia
The tilapia is cleaned, scaled, rubbed with a little salt, then washed and drained.
Put a pan on the stove, add 2 tablespoons of cooking oil, heat it until hot, then add the tilapia to fry on low heat for about 7 – 10 minutes until both sides are golden and firm.
Tips for cleaning tilapia, no fishy smell
- Method 1: After cleaning the fish, soak it in diluted saltwater or rice washing water for about 15 minutes, then rinse with clean water to help eliminate the fishy smell.
- Method 2: Use lemon juice or vinegar to rub evenly over the fish for a few minutes and then rinse it off to help reduce the fishy smell.
- Method 3: Dilute a little white wine and crushed ginger, soak the fish in this mixture for about 10 minutes and then rinse thoroughly.
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Cook the soup
Pour 800ml of filtered water into a pot and place it on the stove to boil on high heat, then season with 3 tablespoons of fish sauce, 2 teaspoons of seasoning powder, 1/2 teaspoon of monosodium glutamate, 3 tablespoons of vinegar, and the pre-fried tilapia into the pot.
Once the water boils, add the mint, reduce the heat to medium, and cook for another 5 – 6 minutes. Add the green onions and adjust the seasoning to your family’s taste before turning off the heat.
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Final product
Sour soup with red tilapia and vinegar has a light sour taste that is easy to eat. The red tilapia is fried beforehand, making it very chewy and delicious, paired with crispy sweet mint.
This soup dish, although simple, is incredibly fragrant and very appetizing!
How to choose fresh and delicious red tilapia
- To make the dish delicious, you need to choose fresh red tilapia, with clear eyes, a slimy and shiny feeling when touched, pink gills, firm scales, and flexibility.
- If the slime on the fish turns sticky, the eyes are sunken and cloudy, the scales are easily detached, the gills are white or dark, the flesh is soft and not elastic, and it floats on the water surface, that is a sign of spoiled fish, which should not be purchased.
See details: How to choose fresh and delicious red tilapia
How to choose delicious water spinach (dọc mùng)
- Choose fresh water spinach, with a light green outer skin, smooth and not rough, the skin should not be peeling off.
- You should select whole and dry plants, avoiding those that have been cut, and avoid those that are bruised or show signs of damage.
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So Tastetutorial.com has introduced you to the recipe for 2 ways to cook sour fish soup with pink tilapia that is delicious and easy to make at home. Wishing you success with the dish to treat your family!
