Vietnamese Spicy & Sour Soup - cooking recipe

Ingredients

450 g medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
5 ml cornstarch, for dusting
45 ml peanut oil
1 1/2 liters chicken stock
30 ml tamarind paste
80 ml water
2 stalks celery, thinly sliced
350 g pineapple, fresh, peeled and cubed
1 large tomatoes, chopped
250 ml okra, thinly sliced
2 red chilies, thinly sliced
200 g bean sprouts
30 ml Thai fish sauce
10 ml ginger, thinly sliced
1 garlic clove, crushed and roughly chopped
20 ml sugar
2 ml salt
2 shallots, minced
125 ml fresh coriander leaves

Preparation

Whisk tamarind with 80 ml water and set aside.
Dust shrimp with cornstarch. Heat 30 ml/2 tbsp of oil in large frying pan over medium heat and stir-fry shrimp just until pink, 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.
In large saucepan, heat stock and tamarind juice over medium heat. Add celery, pineapple, tomato, okra, ginger, garlic and chilies; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low; add sprouts. Stir in fish sauce, sugar and salt.
Heat remaining 15 ml/1 tbsp oil in frying pan and stir-fry shallots until golden, taking care not to burn, about four minutes.
Add shrimp to soup, stirring to combine. Remove from heat and serve, garnished with shallots and fresh cilantro. Serves 6-8.
Note: Try to use fresh pineapple, not canned, for this dish. It makes all the difference.