Sup mang cua (chicken crab asparagus soup)

I realize that it’s been quite some time since my last post. To be honest it’s been quite some time since I’ve been online and reading other people’s blogs as well. But today I tried to keep up with some of my regular blogger friends. I’ve been missing so many great recipes! But I’ll try my best to keep up from now on.

Remember I went to the clinic for a check to see if my eyes were suitable for lens implants? About 2 days after they called me and they had the lenses in stock. I am scheduled to have the first eye surgery next Wednesday. I’m exited but super scared as well. The other day I had to come back so they could make tiny small holes in my iris to prevent any pressure on my eyes. Of course I was scared, but everything went well and looking back it wasn’t as bad as I thought. I hope I can say this after Wednesday also. The second eye will be done on 9 December and I know I will be so relieved after that.

About a week ago I hit a nasty computer virus again. And again all the pictures I took were gone….*sigh*. I don’t know what the deal is with those viruses, but after hitting 2 after another it wasn’t much fun anymore. Luckily I already added the picture for this post in a draft. I’ve made this soup about 2 weeks ago. We normally eat it at special occasions but I just make it whenever I crave it. That’s one of the advantages of being the “chef” in the house.

For a big pot of soup I started boiling some chicken with some slices of ginger and salt. I used 3 chicken thighs and 2 legs and scooped all the foam out to get a clear broth.

In the meantime I shred 400 grams of crab sticks (imitation crab) and put it aside. Since it’s already cooked it will go in last.

When the chicken was nice and tender I took them out and shred them in pieces.

To the broth I added the juice of 4 small cans of white asparagus and the asparagus cut in 2-3cm pieces. Also the shredded chicken went back in.

After boiling it for a couple of minutes I added the crab sticks. Those are the white/pink “strings” you see in here. If you have fresh crab meat you can add that now. Make sure you taste the broth to see if it is to your liking and add salt if needed.

To make the soup thicker I used some potato starch. As far as I know this is the only starch that binds and stays clear so make sure you use this and not let’s say corn starch.

In a bowl I poured some broth, let that cool down a bit and then added some spoons of starch. Don’t add it straight into the hot broth otherwise you’ll get lumps. The starch always sinks to the bottom so you will have to mix it well before you add it to the soup.

I normally make sure the soup is boiling and with one hand I’m stirring the soup and with the other hand I slowly add the starch mixture. I keep stirring it till all the starch is in. You can instantly see the soup thicken. I cooked it for another couple of minutes and then it was time to eat.

I scooped some soup in a big bowl and added some coriander and spring onions on top. Just some grounded fresh pepper on top and it was time to dig in!

We all ate like 2 big bowls so there were barely any leftovers. Even with the imitation crab it was that good.

Hope you all enjoyed the weekend. I'm getting mentally ready for work tomorrow...