Cherry & Dennis Helper Habitat
Cantonese Crab Meat and Fish Maw Thick Soup
粵式蟹肉魚肚羹
Recipe overview
Rehydrated fish maw strips and fully cooked crab meat are warmed in clear chicken stock, lightly thickened and finished with fully set egg-white ribbons.
01
Ingredients
Main ingredients
- 250 g rehydrated fish maw
- 180 g fully cooked crab meat
- 1.2 litres low-sodium chicken stock
- 2 egg whites
- 15 g sliced ginger
- 2 spring onions
Fish-maw blanching
- 1 litre water
- 1 tbsp Shaoxing wine
Soup seasoning
- 1 tsp light soy sauce
- 1/2 tsp or to taste salt
- 1/2 tsp sugar
- 1/8 tsp ground white pepper
Slurry
- 4 tbsp cornflour
- 6 tbsp water
Finishing seasoning
- 1 tsp sesame oil
02
Tools
- stockpot
- colander
- cutting board
- kitchen knife
- small bowls
- measuring jug and spoons
- ladle
- chopsticks or fork
- food thermometer
03
Steps
Step 1
Inspect the fish maw
Check that it is soft throughout with no hard core, trimming away dark or stubborn pieces.
Step 2
Blanch to refresh
Boil water with ginger, spring onion and Shaoxing wine, then simmer the fish maw for 5 minutes.
Step 3
Rinse and squeeze
Drain, rinse with warm water, cool briefly and gently squeeze out excess liquid.
Step 4
Cut even strips
Slice the fish maw into slim strips about 5 cm long and keep their thickness consistent.
Step 5
Check cooked crab
Spread the fully cooked crab meat on a clean plate in small portions and remove every hard shell fragment.
Step 6
Heat the stock
Pour chicken stock into a clean stockpot and bring it to a gentle boil over medium heat.
Step 7
Simmer fish maw
Add the strips and simmer gently for 10 minutes until tender with a slight spring.
Step 8
Add cooked crab
Add the fully cooked crab meat, separate it gently and simmer for 3 minutes.
Step 9
Season and reheat
Add the soup seasonings and verify the soup and crab are reheated to at least 75°C.
Step 10
Remix the slurry
Whisk cornflour and water until smooth, then stir again immediately before using.
Step 11
Thicken gradually
Keep a gentle simmer and stir while adding slurry in stages until the soup flows with light body.
Step 12
Form egg ribbons
Beat egg whites, pour slowly in circles, wait 20 seconds and push into fine ribbons; cook fully and finish with sesame oil.
Common mistakes
- Using fish maw that still has a hard core.
- Failing to check crab meat for shell.
- Adding all slurry at once and making gluey soup.
- Serving before the egg white is fully set.
Tips
Add slurry in stages because the soup thickens further as it cools. Refrigerate opened cooked crab and follow its package use-by guidance.
