When I was a kid, my parents took us to the Cao Dai Temple in Riverside every other Sunday and I always remember looking forward to eating the Canh Chua Chay, Vietnamese Vegetarian Sweet and Sour Soup, every time we visited. Canh Chua Chay is one of the first vegetarian/vegan dishes I fell in love with and look forward to eating when I see it.

For this recipe, I used Quoc Viet’s Canh Chua Soup Base. All I had to do was mix the magical soup base with water, bring to a boil, add the ingredients you want, and season to taste. I also like to use canned pineapples for its convenience and consistent taste each time.

No Limit Tip: I used Quoc Viet Canh Chua Soup Base. If that is not available for you, buy tamarind pulp and dissolve it in water to make tamarind liquid. Adjust sugars to taste.

Ingredients:
12 ounces tofu or vegetarian friendly proteins, fried
1/4 cup Quoc Viet Canh Chua Soup Base, or 10 ounces cooking tamarind concentrate
8 cups of filtered water
1/3 cup sugar, more or less to taste
8 ounce canned pineapple chunks plus juice
2 tomatoes, quartered
10 okra, halved diagonally
4 ounces taro stem or elephant ear, peeled and sliced diagonally
3.5 ounces enoki mushrooms
2 cups bean sprouts
1 bunch rice paddy herb (ngò om), finely chopped
4 Thai chilies
1-2 tablespoons fried garlic oil
Salt, to taste

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