Clean the fish, scale it, cut into pieces, and rinse with salt to remove slime, then drain. Wash all vegetables and slice thinly. Soak tamarind in hot water to dissolve quickly, then strain to remove seeds. In the North, people rub elephant ear stem with salt and rinse, but in the South, it's added directly to boiling water without salting first. Cut green onions and rice paddy herb into pieces, slice chili peppers.

Add 2 tablespoons of oil to a pot, fry minced garlic until golden, then remove the garlic, leaving the oil in the pot. Add pineapple and 1 tomato, sauté until soft. Many people boil water first, then add fish and vegetables to keep the broth clear. I prefer to sauté the pineapple and tomato for a nice color and aroma. Reserve one tomato to add later with okra, elephant ear stem, and bean sprouts.

Add 1 bowl of water to the pot, bring to a boil, and season with: 1 tablespoon seasoning powder, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1 tablespoon fish sauce, 1-2 tablespoons rock sugar (depending on desired sweetness), 5 tablespoons tamarind juice. Then add the fish, bring back to a boil, add all vegetables, and cook until boiling again.

Ladle the soup into a bowl, top with fried garlic, sliced chili peppers, green onions, and rice paddy herb. When eating, usually take the fish out onto a plate with pure fish sauce and sliced chili for dipping, and eat the soup separately.