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Preparation
15 minutes
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Cooking
30 minutes
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Difficulty
Easy
Sour soup is one of the rustic, delicious soups that embodies Vietnamese flavor. Let’s “roll up our sleeves” into the kitchen with Tastetutorial.com today and add the simple, appealing soup dish of basa fish cooked with sour bamboo shoots to the family’s menu!
Ingredients for Basa Fish Soup with Sour Bamboo Shoots Serves 4 people
Basa fish 400 gr (about 3 slices thick as 2 fingers) Sour bamboo shoots 500 gr Tomatoes 2 fruits Sour tamarind 30 gr (about 1 piece) Garlic 3 cloves Shallots 3 bulbs Cilantro 2 sprigs Vietnamese coriander 4 sprigs Chili pepper a little Fish sauce 3 tablespoons Common spices a little (sugar/salt/MSG/seasoning) Cooking oil 4 tablespoons Lemon juice or vinegar a little
How to choose fresh ingredients
How to choose fresh basa fish
- The freshest fish is when it is still alive; you should choose those that swim actively, have clear eyes, red gills, shiny skin, and no unusual colors. Additionally, if you see signs of abnormality such as bloating, weak swimming, or pale color, you should not choose to buy them.
- For whole frozen basa fish, you should choose those with light brown backs and swollen bellies. The fins and tail should be intact. The eyes should be green, and the gills should be bright red without signs of hemorrhage or any unpleasant odor.
- If the fish has been filleted into slices, you should choose pieces with small fibers, white color, and interspersed white fat. The flesh should be firm, springy when pressed, not leaking fluids, and have no slime on the surface.
See details: How to choose fresh fish
How to choose crispy, delicious pickled bamboo shoots
- You can choose either whole pickled bamboo shoots or thinly sliced bamboo shoots salted with garlic and chili according to your preference.
- When buying bamboo shoots, select those with a light yellow exterior, a distinctive aroma, and no surface scum.
- Additionally, the bamboo shoots that are not chemically treated should not be overly shiny and should not look unappealing.
- If choosing pre-packaged pickled bamboo shoots, you need to read the information on the packaging about the expiration date and the place of manufacture. The product inside should not have unusual colors such as being overly white or brown-yellow, and the surface should not have spots or be mushy.
- Moreover, if you have time, you can easily make pickled bamboo shoots at home following the recipe from Tastetutorial.com.
How to make sour bamboo shoot fish soup
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Prepare the ingredients
To eliminate the fishy smell and sliminess of basa fish, after buying, you should scrub the fish with salt and a bit of lemon juice or vinegar for about 5 minutes, then rinse thoroughly with water and let it drain.
How to remove the fishy smell from basa fish
- You can rub it with salt or wash the fish with cold water mixed with a little alcohol or vinegar.
- Additionally, you can boil water and then gently pour it over the fish, use a knife to scrape off the slime, which will help remove the slimy texture and fishy smell.
See details: 7 tips to easily and effectively remove the fishy smell from fish
If you choose a type of sour bamboo shoot, after buying it, you need to wash it several times with water, then squeeze it dry to reduce the sour taste. For less sour bamboo, you only need to squeeze it very dry.
Tomatoes should be washed and cut into wedges. Coriander and cilantro should be washed clean and then chopped finely with a knife.
Shallots and garlic should be peeled and then minced. Bird’s eye chili should be washed and chopped finely.
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Frying fish
Put a pan on the stove, add 3 tablespoons of cooking oil and heat it, then add the basa fish and fry until the fish is cooked, golden brown on both sides, then take it out onto a plate.
Tip: Frying the fish before cooking the soup helps to eliminate the fishy smell, keeps the fish firm, and prevents it from breaking during cooking.
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Cooking basa fish soup with sour bamboo shoots
Put a pot on the stove, add 1 tablespoon of cooking oil and heat it, then add chopped shallots and garlic and sauté until fragrant.
When the shallots and garlic are fragrant, add the tomatoes and stir-fry over medium heat until the tomatoes are evenly cooked. Then add 3 bowls of filtered water (about 1.5 liters) and bring to a boil.
Put the sour tamarind in a bowl of warm water, then use a spoon to mash it, strain to get the juice, and then add it to the pot.
Tip: Depending on the sourness of the bamboo shoots, you should adjust the amount of tamarind juice added to the soup to suit your family’s taste!
Add 3 tablespoons of fish sauce, 1 teaspoon of monosodium glutamate, 1 teaspoon of salt, 2 tablespoons of sugar, and 2 teaspoons of seasoning powder to the pot, and stir well.
Add the fried basa fish and cook until the water in the pot boils, then add the sour bamboo shoots, simmer over medium heat until the soup boils again.
Finally, add chopped coriander and aromatic herbs, season to taste, and then turn off the heat.
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Final Product
The pangasius soup cooked with sour bamboo shoots has a wonderfully enticing aroma when completed. The broth is sweet and sour, seasoned just right, with fresh, sweet, and fatty pangasius meat, enjoyed with crunchy sour bamboo shoots, making it irresistibly delicious, don’t you think?
To enhance the dish, you can dip it in a bowl of chili fish sauce and enjoy it with hot rice or fresh vermicelli. It is guaranteed to be amazing!
See more:
- 3 ways to cook sour stingray soup with banana flower, fermented rice, and young tamarind leaves
- How to cook delicious sour fish soup with flower fish, authentic southern flavor at home
- 3 simple and delicious ways to cook sour catfish soup, rich in authentic southwestern flavor
With the above shares, I hope you now know how to make the delicious, rich, and attractive sour basa fish soup! Wishing you more delicious sour soups!
*Source of the recipe and images shared from Facebook: Huỳnh Ngân.
