Canh Chua Cá with Red Frisée
Sweet pineapple, sour tamarind, and peppery Aeroveg Red Frisée in a Vietnamese canh chua that comes together in one pot in 30 minutes.
Canh chua — Vietnam's beloved sour soup — manages to be simultaneously sweet, sour, fresh, and deeply comforting all in one bowl. The original calls for water spinach or okra to finish; here, Aeroveg Red Frisée takes that role beautifully. Its curly, slightly bitter leaves wilt gently into the broth, cutting through the tamarind's tartness with a clean, green note. This is weeknight Vietnamese cooking at its most honest: one pot, thirty minutes, genuinely restorative.
Method
- Build the broth. Bring stock to a gentle simmer in a medium saucepan. Add lemongrass and simmer 5 minutes to infuse.
- Season the broth. Stir in tamarind paste, fish sauce, and sugar. Taste — the broth should be pleasantly sour and lightly sweet. Adjust with more tamarind or fish sauce as needed.
- Add tomato and pineapple. Add tomato wedges and pineapple to the broth. Simmer 5 minutes until the tomatoes are just softened.
- Cook the fish. Gently lower the fish pieces into the broth. Simmer on medium-low for 5–6 minutes until cooked through. Avoid a hard boil — the fish will break apart.
- Add bean sprouts. Stir in bean sprouts and simmer for 1 minute.
- Add Red Frisée. Turn off the heat. Add Aeroveg Red Frisée and stir gently — the residual heat will wilt it within 30 seconds.
- Serve. Remove the lemongrass stalks. Ladle into bowls and top with spring onion and fresh coriander. Serve with steamed jasmine rice.
Aeroveg Red Frisée has a lovely bitter edge that pairs brilliantly with acidic, tamarind-based broths — its curly leaves catch the soup beautifully. Add it right at the end, off the heat, to preserve its colour and gentle texture.