I can't begin to tell you how much I love this sour fish soup- It's so incredibly delicious. Beautifully moist and tender fish cooked on the bone, in a tamarind stock. Along with a selection of the freshest vegetables, including okra- which is my favourite, tomatoes, pineapples and uniquely to this soup 'bac ha' (stems of a taro plant, often referred as elephant stem). The porous structure of the stem is perfect to absorb up all that beautiful tamarind fish broth.
This is commonly serve along with Ca kho (caramelised braised fish). It's a phenomenal combination, the sweet and sour from the fish soup. Coupled with the sweet and salty from the braised fish is so ridiculously good with steaming hot rice. This soup is remarkably simple to whip up, I frequently cook this when I'm pressed for time but still want something that is comforting, satisfying and always a joy to eat.
