Photograph of the finished Sour Chicken Soup with Sesbania Flowers

Vietnam · Canh chua gà bông so đũa

Sour Chicken Soup with Sesbania Flowers

45 min Hands-on time
EasyDifficulty
5 stepsSteps
Serves 4 Amounts follow along 4

What to get ready

  • Photograph of Whole free-range chicken Whole free-range chicken 1.8 lb
  • Photograph of Sesbania flower Sesbania flower 14.1 oz
  • Photograph of Sour tamarind Sour tamarind 2.8 oz
  • Photograph of Tomato Tomato 4
  • Photograph of Shallots Shallots 1.6
  • Photograph of Fish sauce Fish sauce ¼ cup
  • Photograph of Sawtooth coriander Sawtooth coriander 1.4 oz
  • Photograph of Chilli Chilli 8
  • Photograph of Oil Oil ¼ cup
  • Photograph of Lemongrass Lemongrass 2.8 oz
  • Photograph of Steamed rice Steamed rice 1.8 lb

Method

  1. 1 Blanch the chicken for 3 minutes, then simmer it with crushed lemongrass for 30 minutes to make a sweet broth.
  2. 2 Soak the tamarind to extract the juice, then pour it into a pot with the tomatoes and cook for 6 minutes.
  3. 3 Break off the stems of the Sesbania grandiflora flowers and discard the yellow stamens inside, as the stamens make the soup bitter.
  4. 4 Add the sesbania flowers and cook for exactly 60 seconds before turning off the heat; overcooking will make them mushy and lose their unique sweetness.
  5. 5 Season with fish sauce, then sprinkle with sawtooth coriander and chopped chili peppers.

With an appliance

  • Pressure cooker 30 min

    Replace step 1: simmer the blanched chicken with lemongrass under high pressure for 9 minutes, then release the pressure naturally for 8 minutes; in step 4, keep the lid open and cook the Sesbania grandiflora flowers for exactly 60 seconds to prevent them from becoming mushy.

Start cooking