This soup is one of my favorite dishes that my mom would prepare for me. So when I moved out, I had to learn and recreate it. In Cambodian, we call it Somlor Machu Youn, which translates to Vietnamese Sour Soup. The flavors are all over the place, you have spicy, sweet, sour...simply U-M-A-MI.
Ingredients:
4 cups of chicken stock
2 tablespoon of tamarind paste or tom yum paste
1 lemongrass stalk
2 celery stalk (halved in diagonal)
2 garlic cloves (minced)
2 tablespoons of vegetable oil
1 tablespoon of chili oil
1 teaspoon of salt
2 tablespoons of sugar
3 tablespoons of fish sauce
1 ½ cups of cherry tomato
1 ½ cups of pineapple (sliced into small chunks)
1 cup of shiitake mushroom (diced) or canned straw mushrooms
Coriander
2-3 chicken thighs (diced into pieces)
8-10 large tiger shrimps (optional)
1 Thai chili pepper (optional)
Instructions:
1. In a pan, stir fry the garlic until it turns crispy golden. Set aside.
2. Prepare the shrimp: I like to keep the head, shell and tail on, as it gives a bolder flavor and a rich color to the stock. Devein the shrimp and set aside.
3. In a large pot at medium-high heat, pour the chicken stock and add the chili oil, salt, sugar, fish sauce, and the tamarind paste. Once it starts boiling, add the pineapple, celery, and mushrooms. Let everything simmer for about 10 to 15 minutes minutes. Add the chicken and let it cook.
4. Add the shrimp and tomatoes into the pot and let simmer for another 6-8 minutes. You may want to do a taste test and judge if you want it to be spicier (add more thai chili) or sourer (add more tamarind paste).
5. Finally, garnish the soup with the fried garlic and coriander.
6. You can enjoy the soup by itself or with a bowl of rice.
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