Vietnamese Tamarind Pineapple Soup – Canh Chua

Makes 4-6 servings

Vietnamese Tamarind Pineapple Soup – Canh Chua

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Ingredients

• 1 package rice vermicelli (375 g)
• 1 medium onion, sliced
• 1 tsp (5 mL) chili oil
• 1 tbsp (15 mL) olive oil
• 1 package tamarind paste (227g)
• 7 cups (1,750 mL) water
• 1 tsp (5 mL) salt
• ¼ tsp (1 mL) dried chili flakes
• 1 block firm tofu (454 g), pressed, drained and cut into bite sized pieces
• 3 small vine tomatoes, de-stemmed and cut into wedges
• 1½ cup (375 mL) diced pineapple
• 1 green onion, white part thinly sliced diagonally, green part thinly sliced

Instructions

1. Over medium high heat, cover rice vermicelli with water in a large pot and boil until tender, about 10 minutes. Taste test to check. Strain and rinse well with cold water to remove starch. Set aside to continue straining.
2. To make the soup, in a large pot over medium heat, cook the onions in chili and olive oils until translucent, about 2 minutes. Meanwhile, mash tamarind paste into 1 cup water until almost all of the fruit is dissolved and only pulp remains. Strain the pulp and pour the tamarind slurry into the pot. Continue adding more water to dissolve the fruit. Add the remaining amount of water into the pot. Add salt and chili flakes and bring to a boil.
3. Add the tofu, tomatoes, pineapple and the white part of the green onion and bring soup to a simmer. Let this stew for about 15 minutes. Serve over rice vermicelli and garnish with thinly sliced green onion.