Rhubarb and Okra Sweet and Sour Soup

We have an abundance of rhubarb, as is custom for this time of year. I wanted to try something besides the usual crumble, so in my search I came across this Vietnamese style recipe and just had to try it. It is perhaps an acquired taste, as it is quite unusual to begin with, bit after a few spoonfuls I loved this soup.

Rhubarb and Okra Sweet and Sour Soup Recipe

Ingredients:
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tsp crushed garlic
4 tomatoes, quartered
1 tsp gia vi (or a mix of 2 parts sugar, 1 part black pepper, 1 part salt and 1 part garlic powder) <- I did this
1.5 litres water
3 rhubarb stalks, cut into 3cm chunks
2 tbsp fish sauce
50g okra*, halved, deseeded and cut into 1cm rounds
½ pineapple, cut into 2cm chunks
1 tsp sugar
1 spring onion, chopped
1 tbsp chopped coriander

*Okra - you can buy this in the supermarket. They are also known as 'lady's fingers' and look a bit like large green chillies (you can see them in the middle of the photo). They produce a sticky kind of liquid when you cut and cook them.

How to make it:

Heat the oil in a saucepan and stir in the garlic, cooking until fragrant.

Stir in the tomatoes with ½ tsp gia vi. 

Pour in enough of the water to cover, then bring to the boil.

When the tomatoes are soft, add the remaining water and bring back to the boil, then add the rhubarb and cook until very soft. 

Stir in the fish sauce and sugar, then add the remaining gia vi.
Add the okra and pineapple, cook for 15 minutes, then sprinkle with the spring onion and coriander. 

The original recipe can be found here