How To: Make sweet & sour soup

In a pan being heated over medium heat add one tablespoon of vegetable or peanut oil. Add one teaspoon of chili paste and two minced garlic cloves. Add one quart of chicken broth and two tablespoons of fish sauce. Next add two tablespoons of tamarind, two small tomatoes chopped up into chunks, one tablespoon of sugar, and two tablespoons of lime juice. Bring the soup back up to simmer and let it boil for about five minutes. Add about one half pound of chicken cut up. Let the mixture boil for another two minutes. Add one quarter pineapple cut up into chunks. Let the mixture simmer again for two minutes. Turn the heat off and add one cup of bean sprouts, two small chili peppers cut up real thin, two tablespoons of mint, two tablespoons of basil, two tablespoons of cilantro, and two tablespoons of fried shallots. Stir the soup so that all the final ingredients are mixed up in the soup. Once you've stirred the soup the final time it is ready to serve.