You will find variations of this soup at many Chinese, Thai, and Vietnamese restaurants. Here in Northern California, winter is Dungeness crab season, and there is nothing better on a cold day than a hot bowl of crab soup! Other types of crab can be used, but the Dungeness are in my opinion, some of the best crab one can find when they are in season, and are perfect for this recipe. Be very careful not to overcook the asparagus – you do not want to end up with mushy over cooked green globs of gunk when you are finished.
Serving Size: 2 people as a main dish, 4 as a side dish
Ingredients:
*One whole large Dungeness crab, cleaned, with all the meat removed. Usually a whole Dungeness is around 1.5-2 lbs in the shell and will yield between 3/4ths -1 lb of lump meat. You can use 3/4ths – 1 lb of store bought lumb crab meat instead to save time.
*Half a pound of asparagus, usually about half a bundle.
*One shallot, about 2 tbsp
*Two cloves of garlic, about 1 tbsp
*Two eggs, well beaten
*One tbsp corn starch
*One bundle of green onions (usually about 6) trimmed, and thinly sliced*One tbsp sesame or vegetable oil
*Four cups low sodium or sodium-free chicken broth
*Two tbsp timari
Preparation:
1) If using a whole crab, crack and remove meat from shell and set aside. Chop and peel shallots and garlic, trim and thinly slice green onions, beat both eggs, and set aside.
2) Wash asparagus. Snap off the tough bottoms. Cut off the tops and then cut the stems into 1-1.5 inch sections.
3) Heat oil on medium-high heat. Once a piece of shallot sizzles, add shallots and garlic and cook for 1-2 minutes or until fragrant.
4) Add asparagus and cook for about 1 minute more, or until it starts to turn bright green.
5) Add broth, turn heat up all the way and bring to a boil as fast as possible.
6) Drizzle the egg into the soup once it is boiling to form thin, lacy strips of egg.
7) Add crab and green onion and cook for another minute or two, then remove from heat and serve immediately.
optional: For a thicker soup, corn starch can be added once the broth is boiling to thicken to desired consistency.
6) Drizzle the egg into the soup once it is boiling to form thin, lacy strips of egg.
7) Add crab and green onion and cook for another minute or two, then remove from heat and serve immediately.
optional: For a thicker soup, corn starch can be added once the broth is boiling to thicken to desired consistency.
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