Vegetarian sour soup

Step 1: Soak 1 oz tamarind pulp (from a block) in ¾ cup hot water for 5 minutes, then squash it with your fingers or a fork to loosen the pulp. Push it through a sieve, keeping the sour liquid and throwing away the seeds and fibres.

Step 2: If you're using firm tofu rather than ready-fried puffs, fry it in a little of the 2 tbsp vegetable oil over a medium-high heat until golden on all sides, about 6 minutes, and set aside. Heat the remaining oil in a large pan over a medium heat. Fry 2 shallots for 1 minute until soft and fragrant, then add 2 ripe tomatoes and cook for 3–4 minutes, pressing them down, until they collapse and colour the oil red.

Step 3: Pour in 5 cups vegetable stock or water and bring to the boil. Add 5 ½ oz fresh pineapple and 7 oz fried tofu puffs or firm tofu and simmer for 5 minutes so the pineapple sweetens the broth.

Step 4: Stir in two-thirds of the tamarind liquid with 1 ½ tbsp sugar, 1 tbsp soy sauce and 1 tsp salt. Taste: it should be clearly sour first, then sweet, then salty. Add more tamarind, sugar or salt until it tastes bright and balanced.

Step 5: Add 6 okra and 2 stalks taro stem (bạc hà) or celery and simmer for just 2 minutes; they should stay bright green and a little crunchy.

Step 6: Meanwhile, fry 3 cloves garlic in 2 tbsp vegetable oil in a small pan over a medium-low heat for 1–2 minutes, until pale golden and crisp. Watch it closely, as it burns quickly.

Step 7: Take the soup off the heat and drop in 3 ½ oz bean sprouts and 1 handful rice paddy herb (ngò om) and sawtooth coriander (ngò gai). Ladle into a big bowl, spoon over the garlic and its oil and scatter with 1 red chilli. Serve at once with 4 bowls steamed jasmine rice.