Vietnamese Tomato & Fish Soup with Pickled Mustard Greens
This soup is my attempt to recreate the comforting, home-style Vietnamese soup my dad used to make when I was growing up, but without the fish. In our household, every meal included a soup, a protein dish, and rice. I've fine-tuned this recipe over countless iterations to arrive at the one we have today, and I'm constantly adding new tweaks to make it even more delicious. 🥰
Ingredients
Broth
- 1/2 tbsp Neutral Oil
- 3 Garlic cloves 1 tbsp
- 550 g Tomato (Note 2) cut into wedges (6-8 pieces)
- 6 cups Water
- 700 g Frozen fish fillet defrosted, cut into 2cm length pieces
- 2 tbsp Fish sauce
- 2 tsp Chicken Powder
- 1-2 Thai chili peppers sliced
- Handful of dill chopped in 1-2″ (optional)
- 1 bunch Green Onion
Sautéed Pickled Vegetables
- 1 bag Pickled veggies (Note 1, Chicken brand), core cut in half, then cut into 1.5 cm length pieces
- 1/2 tbsp Neutral oil
Optional
- Vermicelli Noodles (200g)
Instructions
Noodles
- Cook as per package instructions. Strain and rinse thoroughly. (Note 4)
Pickled Veggies
- On medium-high heat, in a medium stock pot, add ½ tbsp of neutral oil and saute pickled veggies (reserve the brine, see Note 1). Toss for 2 minutes, and transfer to a bowl.
Soup
- To the same pot on medium-high heat, add ½ tsp of oil and saute garlic until aromatic. Add tomatoes cut side down and sear for 2-3 minutes until the skin curls. Flip and sear for another 2 minutes.
- Add water, fish sauce, chicken powder, sauteed pickled veggie, reserved pickled veggie brine (see Note 2) and fish (see Note 3). Simmer covered on medium for 5 minutes. Add sliced Thai chili peppers, green onions and dill (if using).
- Before serving, add vermicelli directly to the stock pot (see Note 4), and simmer for 1-2 minutes.
Notes
Note 1: The pickling juice that comes with the pickled veggies adds the perfect "sourness" to the soup! Make sure to reserve the juice, and set it to the side, I add the entire juice packet, but you can add it to your preference. My favorite Pickled Vegetable brand to use is this "Chicken" Brand- it is consistent and always has the best crunch. I like to pick ones with a big "harder" core. Usually on sale in Toronto for $1 a pack.
Note 2: Searing the tomatoes before adding water will help the tomatoes break down further. I've used medium-sized roma, field garden, and tomatoes on the vine - and they all work well.
Note 3: Frozen basa fish works the best in this soup. My favourite ones to pick up, are single frozen fillets in a big bag (incredibly affordable at $4 to 8). I've tried fresh fish, and it overwhelmingly changes the flavour and smell of the soup. By only simmering the frozen basa fish for 5 minutes, you'll have the most tender fish!
Note 4: For thicker, chewier noodles I love this brand, Jiangxi (requires 10 minutes of cooking time, don't listen to the packet). And for thinner, chewy noodles, this Viet Choice brand is my go-to (5-minute cooking time). Run the noodles under cold water and rinse thoroughly for 1-2 minutes to get rid of the starch. Adding the noodles back into the soup to warm up again, will absorb all of that delicious flavour.
