Although I left Vietnam at a very young age, but I can never forget this special traditional dish, the basic ingredient would be something to make it sour and a little sweet, such as Tamarind and Pine Apple, although these can be sweet also. However to make it fast, the ingredient for canh chua already been pre-mixed, just go to vietnam groceries super market to buy them, there are various kind but the taste are pretty much similar, you would need some sugar salt pepper fish sauce to your taste 🙂

There are so many variety of canh chua, I will try to list all the one that I know and pictures below. Bottom line, canh chua taste so yummy, Vietnamese hot sour soup, remember to eat it real hot.

Canh chua (literally “sour soup”)[1] is a sour soup indigenous to the Mekong Delta region of southern Vietnam. It is typically made with fish from the Mekong River Delta, pineapple, tomatoes (and sometimes also other vegetables such as okra or bạc hà), and bean sprouts, in a tamarind-flavored broth. It is garnished with the lemony-scented herb ngò ôm (Limnophila aromatica), caramelized garlic, and chopped scallions, as well as other herbs, according to the specific variety of canh chua; these other herbs may include rau răm (Vietnamese coriander), ngò gai (long coriander), and rau quế (Thai basil). It can be served alone, with white rice, or with rice vermicelli.
The sour taste of the soup comes from tamarind, which is mixed with a small amount of hot water; the mixture is then stirred for a few moments to release all the essence, and the liquid (minus the tamarind seeds and other solids, which are discarded) is then added to the soup.
When made in style of a hot pot, canh chua is called lẩu canh chua.

View list of canh chua below.

Canh chua me – made with tamarind; includes most varieties of canh chua

Canh chua me đất or canh chua rau nhút – made with water mimosa (Neptunia oleracea)

Canh chua cá – made with fish

Canh chua đầu cá – made with fish heads

Canh chua cá lóc – made with snakehead fish

Canh chua cá bông lau – made with Pangasius krempfi catfish

Canh chua cá lăng – made with Hemibagrus catfish

Canh chua cá ngát – made with Plotosus catfish

Canh chua cá trê – made with airbreathing catfish

Canh chua cá linh bông so đũa – made with mud carp and Sesbania grandiflora flowers

Canh chua lá giang cá kèo – made with Aganonerion polymorphum leaves and mudskipper fish in the genus Apocryptes

Canh chua lươn – made with eel

Canh chua cá hồi – made with salmon

Canh cải chua cá – made with pickled mustard greens and fish

Canh chua tôm – made with shrimp

Canh chua tôm rau muống or canh chua rau muống nấu tôm – made with shrimp and water spinach (Ipomoea aquatica)

Canh chua thơm nấu tép or canh chua thơm nấu với tép – made with pineapple and small shrimp

Canh chua gà – made with chicken

Canh chua lá giang gà or canh chua gà lá giang – made with chicken and Aganonerion polymorphum leaves
Canh chua lá giang cá kèo – made with Aganonerion polymorphum leaves and mudskipper fish in the genus Apocryptes

Canh chua rau muống – made with water spinach (Ipomoea aquatica)
Canh chua tôm rau muống or canh chua rau muống nấu tôm – made with water spinach (Ipomoea aquatica) and shrimp
Canh chua chay – vegetarian

Canh chua măng – made with pickled bamboo shoots

Canh cải chua – made with pickled mustard greens

Canh cải chua thịt bằm – made with pickled mustard greens and ground pork
Canh cải chua sườn non – made with pickled mustard greens and baby back pork ribs
Canh cải chua cá – made with made with pickled mustard greens and fish

Canh cải chua ruột non or canh cải chua lòng heo – made with pickled mustard greens and pork intestines

Canh cải chua nấu với bắp bò – made with pickled mustard greens and beef shank
Canh chua Thái or canh chua Thái Lan – an adaptation of Thai tom yum

 

How to cook canh chua – sour soup – recipes videos shared on youtube.

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