May 8, 2008...8:28 am
Sour Soup of Beef and Spinach.
Vietnam. Canh chua rau muong.
(Believe it or not, there’s a whole lot of water spinach hiding in there!)
Today’s post is in part a belated response to the person who searched my blog looking for “tamarind water spinach.” Here it is as a soup. And yes, vague memories of this one were probably why I thought that searched combination was such a great idea.
This is a variant on a theme. Like yesterday’s recipe, it’s a canh chua from the south of Vietnam. But it is different. The main ingredients include beef and water spinach, the tamarind is reduced, and the garnishes increase. The end result is heartier, not as sour, and involves more competition between flavors in your mouth. It is more interesting.
This soup is still light enough to serve on a warm day.
Recipe after the jump.
- 250g steak, grilled to medium rare, finely sliced.
- Piece of tamarind the size of 1 golf ball.
- 1 cup hot water
- 3 cups chicken or light pork stock
- a quarter cup fish sauce
- a quarter cup sugar
- 1 bunch water spinach, leaves and tender stem torn from main stems. Spinach makes a passable substitute.
- 1 tomato diced
- 1 giant taro/elephant ear stem, diagonally sliced (see sub ideas from yesterday)
- 6 okra, diagonally sliced
- large double handful bean sprouts
- 1 small bunch rice paddy herb
- 5 Tblspn crisp fried red shallots
- 3 Tblspn crisp fried garlic
- 1 small very hot chili, sliced
First fry or grill the steak and set aside to rest before slicing thinly. Dissolve the tamarind pulp in the hot water then strain the tamarind water. Bring the tamarind water, stock, fish sauce, and sugar to a boil in a large pot. Add the water spinach, tomato, giant taro stem, okra and bean sprouts and return to the boil. Add the beef (and some of the juices if you like). Stir in then serve immediately garnished with the rice paddy herb, fried shallots, fried garlic and chili.
Note: Either buy your taro stem from someone you trust or cook it hard for a long time. The leaves and stems of non-food varieties of taro can be dangerous.
And something I forgot to say yesterday. These soups do end up cluttered, with bits of bean sprout and vegetable poking out of the bowls in all directions. They’re meant to look like that.
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