Vietnamese Sweet-Sour Shrimp Soup

• 2 tablespoons tamarind pulp (optional)
• 1/4 cup thinly sliced shallots
• 1 tablespoon salad oil
• 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1/2 teaspoon Asian chili paste or hot chili flakes
• 5 cups fat-skimmed chicken broth
• 1 pound (30 to 35 per lb.) shrimp, peeled, deveined, and rinsed
• 1 cup pineapple chunks (3/4 in.)
• 2 tablespoons Asian fish sauce (nuoc mam or nam pla) or reduced-sodium soy sauce
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 1/4 cup lime juice (6 tablespoons if you don't use tamarind pulp)
• 2 Roma tomatoes (6 oz. total), rinsed, cored, and cut into 1/2-inch wedges
• 2 cups (6 oz.) bean sprouts, rinsed and drained
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh Thai or anise basil (rau hung que) or regular basil leaves
• 2 tablespoons chopped rice-paddy herb (ngo om) or fresh cilantro
• 2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh Thai (hang prik) or serrano chilies

1. In a bowl, combine tamarind pulp and 1/3 cup hot water. Let cool, rub pulp off seeds, and press mixture through a fine strainer into another small bowl; discard seeds.
2. In a 5- to 6-quart pan over medium heat, stir shallots with oil until golden and crisp, 3 to 6 minutes. Lift out with a slotted spoon and drain on towels.
3. Add garlic and chili paste to pan and stir until garlic is fragrant, about 10 seconds. Add broth, cover, and bring to a boil over high heat.
4. Add shrimp, pineapple, fish sauce, sugar, lime juice, and reserved tamarind pulp. Cook, uncovered, just until shrimp turns pink, 2 to 3 minutes.
5. With a slotted spoon, transfer shrimp and pineapple to wide soup bowls. Stir tomatoes, bean sprouts, basil, and rice-paddy herb into hot broth.
6. Ladle soup mixture into bowls and sprinkle with fried shallots. Add chopped chilies to taste.
7. For a striking presentation, use shrimp with heads; they are sold in Asian fish markets and some seafood markets. Buy 1 1/2 pounds (21 to 30 per lb.) shrimp and devein in the shells: slide a thin metal skewer through each shell, under and perpendicular to vein, then pull skewer up through shell to draw out vein;repeat in several places along shell back. Rinse shrimp and cook in shells. Tamarind pulp is found in Asian and Latino markets. Purple-tinged,Thai or anise basil and the tiny springs of cumin-scented rice paddy herb can be found in vietnamese markets.

tamarind pulp, shallots, salad oil, garlic, asian chili paste, chicken broth, shrimp, pineapple, fish sauce, sugar, lime juice, tomatoes, bean sprouts, fresh thai, ricepaddy, fresh thai

Taken from www.myrecipes.com/recipe/vietnamese-sweet-sour-shrimp-soup (may not work)