Sour soup with snakehead fish and star fruit

*Delicious bowl of snakehead fish soup with star fruit*

These past few days, the first day of summer has been a rainy storm. The Thu Bon River near my house has seen a lot of anchovies. The baskets of anchovies that have just been caught are not big, but each one has sparkling eyes and is very fresh. Going to the market and seeing the first anchovies of the season is like receiving a gift from heaven.

“Cook anything, as long as it doesn’t lack a bowl of star fruit soup with snakehead fish, okay?” Mom did not forget to remind me as she moved the basket of snakehead fish that was arching its body and bouncing its back towards me.

The loach is a small trash fish of the carp family, with a thick, slightly round body and a black back. The largest is only as big as two fingers, the smallest is as big as a thumb, with shiny scales and a back with black stripes and soft bones.

Anyone in the small hamlets around the lower reaches of my hometown Quang Nam is familiar with star fruit soup with snakehead fish every rainy season.

The sweetness from the meat of the river fish adds nutrients to the body. The sourness from the star fruit creates resistance for people to survive the harsh weather of rain, sun, and wind. Not only that, the bowl of star fruit and fish soup steaming hot from the kitchen also has a special flavor - the smell of family happiness.

*The new fish is fresh and just caught.*

Before cooking the soup, the fish is de-headed and gutted but kept intact, washed, and drained. Marinate the fish with a little fish sauce and pepper for about ten minutes before cooking. When the soup is boiling, add the fish.

The fish swam happily in the boiling water. When the fish was just cooked, quickly add the sliced star fruit. A faint sour aroma spread throughout the kitchen.

Before turning off the stove, to enhance the delicious flavor, it is necessary to add a few basil leaves or coriander, the soup looks more attractive but still retains the aroma and sweetness of the fish.

Anyone who has ever enjoyed star fruit soup with snakehead fish will be surprised by the simple yet flavorful dish. Only homegrown ingredients, a couple of fresh fish just caught ashore, and a few green star fruit, yet you just sniff and slurp the whole pot of soup.

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