How to Cook Delicious Non-Fishy Salmon Sour Soup at Home

I/ Ingredients for Salmon Sour Soup

Here are the ingredients you need to prepare for making salmon sour soup:

• Salmon fillet
• 1 bowl of tamarind shoots (approximately 200 – 250 grams)
• 3 – 4 tomatoes
• 1 sour tamarind fruit
• Several sprigs of cilantro, sawtooth herb
• 2 – 3 spicy chili peppers, 4 tablespoons minced garlic
• Various seasonings such as cooking oil, fish sauce, ground pepper, salt, sugar, and seasoning powder.

II/ Tips for Choosing Fresh and Delicious Salmon

To make a delicious salmon sour soup, you need to know how to select fresh salmon. Here are some tips for choosing fresh and delicious salmon:

1. Aroma: One of the simplest ways to check the freshness of salmon is its aroma. Fresh salmon should have a natural, fresh, and non-fishy odor. If it smells unpleasant or too strong, it’s likely not fresh.
2. Color: Fresh salmon typically has a bright, pale pink and even flesh color. Avoid pieces of salmon with uneven or brownish color.
3. Texture and Firmness: Fresh salmon should have a firm and not mushy texture. When gently pressed, it should bounce back and not be mushy or loose.
4. Eyes and Scales: Examine the eyes of the salmon; they should be clear and bright, not cloudy or bulging. Additionally, the scales of the salmon should be shiny and not flaky or falling off.
5. Bones and Spines: Check the color of the bones and spines; they should be pink or bright red, not brown or gray. If they have a dull color, the salmon may not be fresh.

Remember to apply these tips to choose the freshest and most delicious salmon for your dish.

III/ Making Salmon Sour Soup

1. Preparation

First, let’s prepare the salmon. When cleaning the salmon, especially pay attention to the following steps to remove the fishy taste:

• After purchasing salmon, if you don’t use it immediately, store it in the refrigerator instead of soaking it in water, even clean water.
• Next, process the salmon by rinsing it both on the outside and inside the fish’s head, then gently rub it with salt and rinse it 2-4 times with diluted saltwater.
• After cleaning, cut the salmon into smaller pieces and drain before marinating.

2. Marinating the Salmon and Preparing the Remaining Ingredients

Next, we need to marinate the salmon before cooking. The salmon head will be marinated with a mixture of 1 tablespoon of salt, 1 tablespoon of fish sauce, ¼ teaspoon of ground pepper, and 2 crushed bird’s eye chilies.

For the remaining ingredients, they also need to be marinated and prepared. After rinsing in cold water, the pickled mustard greens will be squeezed dry. As for the tamarind, after soaking it in warm water and filtering for the tamarind juice, cut the tomatoes into wedges and finely chop the culantro and cilantro.

3. Cooking Salmon Sour Soup

Start by sautéing half of the minced garlic until golden brown, then set it aside. Continue sautéing the remaining garlic until fragrant, then add the chopped tomatoes and stir-fry together.

Bring water to a boil in a pot, then add 4 tablespoons of tamarind water. When the water boils again, add the marinated salmon, tomato wedges, and pickled mustard greens to the pot, then season with 2 teaspoons of salt, 1 tablespoon of sugar, 1 teaspoon of MSG, and 2 tablespoons of fish sauce.

When the water boils again, add the sautéed tomato mixture to enhance the color of the broth. Finally, add the chopped culantro and cilantro, gently stir the soup before turning off the heat. The delicious and appealing salmon sour soup is ready to enjoy.

IV/ Conclusion

Cooking salmon sour soup is truly simple if you pay attention to a few important points in the preparation and cooking process. With these small tips, you can definitely create a delicious and non-fishy salmon sour soup. KINGFISH wishes you success and enjoyment in this delightful dish!