I am a lover of soups that seamlessly balance contrasting flavors — the herbed, spicy bite of a classic Lagosian pepper soup or the coconut creaminess and tomatoey sharpness of a moqueca. I’ve written about the restorative nature of brothy soups and the comfort of umami-rich stews like maafé.
It’s soups that delicately combine sweet and sour, however, that excite me most, especially during the long winter months. And the chase for the right ingredients at the perfect moment to yield that symmetry is particularly thrilling to me. In a matter of miles, citrus, herbs and chiles can all taste different, even within the same season. Which means the end result will, too. As close as I may come, I may never exactly produce the same dish twice. It’s part of what makes what makes cooking feel fleeting.
This is why tamarind has always been among my favorite ingredients: It always manages to surprise me. Lively with deep notes, tamarind awakens the senses. Its tartness will make you pucker, while its sourness introduces itself gently, surrounding the palate but not quite taking over. I love this subtlety. I would always rather be eased into acidity, something that tamarind does so well.
There are plenty of options to consider when buying tamarind. You can start with the whole fruit, which can be found as pods or as a brick of pulp, to make your own purée. Or, for convenience, you can find jarred purées and concentrates with varying degrees of acidity, depending on how much the sauce has been cooked down. I find the taste, smell and texture to differ distinctly from brand to brand. The logical part of my mind is frustrated by this, but the culinary part of my mind knows that this is where the excitement begins.
In this light, brothy soup, packed with a delicious punch from tamarind, lemongrass, ginger and chiles, the interplay of ingredients means it’s a dish that’s ever-changing, and that’s part of its allure. The recipe is most closely modeled after some of my favorite versions of the Sundanese soup sayur asem, the slightly sweet lemongrass and galangal-infused broth of Isan-style tom klong pla and Timorese fish in sour broth. Like those, this soup provides a wonderful base for variation and nods to convenience: It’s full of what I can get at the grocery store this time of the year. The root vegetables — slices of daikon and sweet potato — are poached just long enough to be tender but maintain a slight bite. Tofu, soft or silken, absorbs the ingredients’ essences and melts in your mouth with every spoonful.
It is a soup that’s all about balance. The first spoonful is both sweet and sour, with a deeply rich color that belies an effortlessly sippable broth. Fresh herbs like dill and cilantro are the finishing touches — one last welcome surprise in a soup that’s deftly filled with them.
