Sour soup with king mackerel

This is a sour fish soup which is also very popular in Vietnamese cooking. Only one point is that more people prefer fresh water fish than salt water fish.  Of course people from coastal provinces often use seafood to cook into sour soups, and their sour fish soups are also great. 

It doesn’t matter for me where the fish come from. Of course some fish cannot be cooked into soups like this one, while some are really perfect to make sour soup with. This time I cooked with king mackerel. 

Ingredients: (serves 2-3)

- 2 king mackerel steaks

- 1 tbs oil 

- 1/2 tsp salt  

- 1 small green pineapple, cut into chunks

- 3 ripe tomatoes, cut into wedges

- 1 tamarind pod or 2 fruits from dracontomelum tree

- 2 stalks spring onions, chopped

- 1 small bunch of dill, chopped

Cooking:

- Wash the mackerel steaks well, pat dry. Heat the oil in a frying pan, fry the steaks until just golden on both sides. 

- Bring about 3 cups water to a boil, add the fried mackerel steaks, tomato wedges, tamarind pod, salt, simmer for about 20 minutes. 

- Add pineapple chunks, cook for another 10 minutes. Add the spring onions and dill, stirring gently. Remove from the heat immediately.