Asparagus Crab Soup (Sup Mang Tay Cua)

Last week, my brother, Trung, left me a message saying that he didn't see asparagus crab soup (sup mang tay cua) on the site. In Vietnamese, asparagus is mang tay and literally translates to "bamboo French". Anyway, I think it's one of his favorite soups.

So, I asked my mom for her recipe and she gave me the steps to making the soup. It's amazing the amount of recipes she keeps in her head. I have a hard enough time remembering just one of them. That's one of the reasons why we started documenting everything on SND.

The soup is easy to make and is essentially an egg drop soup with asparagus and crab. Like making pho, a charred onion is used to add more flavor to the stock. Hungry Bear and I don't like our asparagus mushy and brown, so I only cooked it for a few minutes. The soup turned out great and tasted like my mom's, which made me and my tummy very happy!

There you have it, Trung. Ask and you shall receive. Now, does anyone else have a Viet recipe request for my mom?

Asparagus Crab Soup (Sup Mang Tay Cua) Recipe

SND Note: If you are using homemade chicken stock, the charred onion is not necessary. If you have an electric burner, place a piece of aluminum foil on top of the burner and char the onion on top of the foil. Don't over-beat the eggs if you want ribbons of white and yellow eggs in the soup. For a thicker soup, add additional corn starch.

Ingredients

8 cups (64 ounces) low-sodium chicken stock
1 medium onion, halved
1 teaspoon fish sauce
1/3 teaspoon black pepper
Pinch of salt
2 1/2 pounds (2 bundles) asparagus, woody ends trimmed, cut into 1 inch segments
1/2 pound cooked crab meat, remove any shells or cartilage
2 tablespoons corn starch
2 large eggs, barely beaten
Handful of cilantro, chopped

Directions

Char the onion halves directly over a gas burner or under a broiler, until blackened and fragrant. Reserve 1/2 cup of chicken stock in a small bowl. In a large stock pot, add the onion halves and remaining stock; bring to a boil over medium-high heat.
Add fish sauce, black pepper, salt and asparagus and cook uncovered for 4-5 minutes. Meanwhile, make a slurry by whisking and dissolving the corn starch into the reserved chicken stock. Reduce heat to medium and add the crab meat. Slowly stir in the corn starch slurry into the soup. Continue stirring to thicken, about 1 minute.
While stirring the soup, slowly pour the eggs in a steady stream. Continue stirring eggs to create shreds or ribbons and until eggs are set, about 1 minute. Adjust seasonings to taste. Serve by garnishing with cilantro and a little freshly ground black pepper.

Makes 6 servings

[tags]soup, crab, asparagus, onions, chicken stock, vietnamese, easy[/tags]

Asparagus Crab Soup (Sup Mang Tay Cua) is a post from: Sunday Nite Dinner