25-Minute Vietnamese Sweet & Sour Shrimp Soup

By Sprig Originals ✓ · cooked up in Sprig

A bright, brothy one-pot soup built on the classic Vietnamese sour-sweet axis: tamarind for tang, fresh pineapple for sweetness, fish sauce for depth. Shrimp shells become a fast 10-minute broth while you prep, and okra plus celery stand in for the elephant ear stem you'd find in a Saigon kitchen. Restaurant versions run close to $19 a bowl — this one comes together in about 25 minutes.

Ingredients

• 1 lb large shell-on shrimp (16/20), peeled and deveined, shells reserved
• 1 tbsp neutral oil
• 6 cups water
• 2 thin slices fresh ginger

• 2 tbsp seedless tamarind paste (wet concentrate)
• 1/2 cup hot water
• 3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• 2 shallots, thinly sliced
• 1 1/2 cups fresh pineapple, cut into 1/2-inch wedges
• 2 ripe tomatoes, cut into 6 wedges each
• 6 okra pods, sliced 1/2-inch thick on the bias
• 2 celery stalks, sliced 1/2-inch thick on the bias
• 3 tbsp fish sauce, plus more to taste
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 1 cup bean sprouts
• 1 red Thai chile, thinly sliced (optional)

• 1/3 cup rice paddy herb or cilantro leaves, roughly chopped
• 1/3 cup Thai basil leaves
• 2 tbsp fried shallots (store-bought is fine)
• 1 lime, cut into wedges
• Steamed jasmine rice, for serving

Instructions

1. Pat the reserved shrimp shells dry. Heat the oil in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium-high and add the shells; cook, stirring, for 2 to 3 minutes until they turn bright orange and smell toasty. Add the 6 cups water and ginger slices, bring to a boil, then reduce to a steady simmer for 10 minutes.
2. While the broth simmers, stir the tamarind paste into the 1/2 cup hot water and mash with a fork until dissolved. Strain through a fine sieve into a bowl, pressing on any solids, and discard the fibers. Prep the pineapple, tomatoes, okra, celery, garlic, and shallots.
3. Strain the broth through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl and discard the shells and ginger. You should have about 5 cups; top up with water if short. Wipe the pot and return it to the stove.
4. Set the pot over medium heat, add a thin film of oil if it looks dry, and cook the sliced garlic and shallots for 1 minute until fragrant but not browned. Pour in the strained broth and the tamarind liquid, add the pineapple and celery, and bring to a boil.
5. Stir in the fish sauce and sugar and simmer for 4 minutes, until the celery is crisp-tender and the pineapple has softened at the edges. Taste the broth: it should be assertively sour with a clear sweet edge and enough salt to taste seasoned on its own. Adjust with more tamarind, sugar, or fish sauce 1 teaspoon at a time.
6. Add the tomato wedges and okra and simmer for 3 minutes — just long enough for the tomatoes to slump and the okra to turn tender while staying green.
7. Slide in the shrimp and the sliced chile, turn off the heat, and let the residual heat cook the shrimp for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring once, until they are opaque and curled into a loose C. Do not let the soup boil again or the shrimp will tighten.
8. Stir in the bean sprouts and most of the herbs. Ladle into bowls, top with the remaining rice paddy herb or cilantro, Thai basil, and fried shallots, and serve immediately with lime wedges and hot jasmine rice on the side.
9. Traditionally, each diner spoons rice into a bowl and ladles the hot soup over it, or eats the soup alongside rice with a small dish of fish sauce and chile for dipping the shrimp.

Chef's tips

Nutrition (per serving, estimated)

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