A classic Chinese delicacy, Fish Maw Soup (花膠湯) is rich in collagen, smooth in texture, and deeply flavorful. Often served during festive occasions, this nourishing soup is easier to make than it looks—requiring just a few key ingredients and under 20 minutes of cooking time. Perfect for celebrations or a comforting homemade meal.
Watch How To Make Fish Maw Soup – Recipe Video
Fish Maw Soup Recipe (花膠湯) – A Luxurious Chinese Delicacy in 20 Minutes
Fish Maw Soup is a timeless and luxurious dish often served at Chinese wedding banquets, festive celebrations, and high-end restaurants. Known for its rich collagen content, smooth silky texture, and indulgent umami flavor, this soup dish may seem extravagant—but it’s surprisingly easy to prepare at home. The best part is, you do not need to spend long hours cooking this soup, about 15 to 20 minutes. The only extra time needed is to soak and soften the dried ingredients before cooking.
In this post, I’ll walk you through everything you need to know about how to cook Fish Maw Soup, including what fish maw is, how to prep it, and a step-by-step recipe that takes just 20 minutes of cooking time. Whether you’re planning for a special occasion like Chinese New Year, a family gathering, or simply want to enjoy a bowl of traditional Chinese soup, this recipe is the perfect guide.
Let’s bring this restaurant-style Chinese delicacy to your home kitchen!
⭐ Why You’ll Love This Fish Maw Soup
• Rich in Collagen: Great for skin and joints.
• Quick Cooking Time: Just 20 minutes on the stove.
• Elegant Yet Simple: Impressive enough for celebrations, but easy for weekday meals.
• Customizable: Use affordable fish maw for everyday cooking, or premium fa gau (花膠) for special occasions.
🐟 What is Fish Maw? (Yu Piu / 魚鰾 or Fa Gau / 花膠)
Fish maw is the dried swim bladder of a fish—the part that helps fish control their buoyancy as they ascend and descend in water. Though it may sound like a humble by-product, fish maw is considered a delicacy in Chinese cuisine, prized for its health benefits, collagen content, and its spongy texture that absorbs the rich flavors of soups and stews.
Fresh fish maw is first cleaned and dried, and sometimes deep-fried to create a crispy texture before rehydration. It’s especially valued for its spongy, silky texture and is often seen as a symbol of wealth and nourishment in traditional Chinese cooking.
Fish maw is also a popular collagen source in the food industry, often compared to luxurious ingredients like shark fin and bird’s nest. However, it’s considered more sustainable and cost-effective, though still not exactly cheap.
🏷️ Types of Fish Maw:
There are two main grades commonly available:
• Yu Piu (魚鰾) – A thinner, more affordable variety. Ideal for everyday cooking or beginner-friendly recipes.
• Fa Gau (花膠) – A premium fish maw, much thicker and richer in collagen, often reserved for banquets or special occasions.
💡 Tip: Choose fish maw based on your budget and occasion. Even the more affordable variety will deliver great flavor and texture when prepared properly.
🧼 How to Soften and Prepare Dried Fish Maw For Cooking
Before cooking, dried fish maw must be rehydrated. Here’s how:
1. Rinse fish maw under running water.
2. Soak in a bowl of water, fully submerged and covered, for about 2 hours, until soft.
3. Once soft and expanded, cut into bite-sized pieces. (Fish maw cooks fast and is only added to soap towards the end of cooking.)
📦 How to Store Dried Fish Maw
Dried fish maw can be stored for years if kept properly. For best results:
• Store in an airtight container
• Keep in a cool, dark, and dry place
• You can also refrigerate it for long-term storage, up to years
Ingredients You Need To Make Fish Maw Soup
- Dried Scallop
- Fish Maw
- Water
- Dried Shiitake Mushrooms
- Spring Onion
- Egg White
- Salt (Seasoning)
- Sugar (Seasoning)
- Light Soy Sauce (Seasoning)
- Sesame Oil (Seasoning)
- Chinese Cooking Wine (Seasoning)
- Cornstarch (Slurry)
Overview On How to Make Fish Maw Soup
Prepare Ingredients
- Soak fish maw in a large bowl of hot water. Cover and leave to soak till soft and fish maw has expanded, about 2 hours. Then cut into small pieces.
- Steam dried scallop till soft. Then strained softened dried scallop into a bowl and shred into strips. Retain the scallop fluid to nee added into soup.
- Soak dried shiitake mushroom till soft. Squeeze dry and cut into thin strips.
Blanch Ingredients
- Boil water in a pot or wok. Add in frozen crabmeat and blanch for a few minute. Strain and set aside.
- Add in sliced shiitake mushrooms into the boiling water. When the water boils again, add in the fish maw and blanch for another 5 minutes. Remove from wok, strain and set aside.
Cooking Fish Maw Soup
- First prepare the broth. In a pot, add water, scallop fluid, scallop strips and 1 tbsp concentrated chicken stock. Bring to a boil. Then add in the blanched crabmeat, mushrooms and fish maw.
- Then add in salt, sugar and light soy sauce. Sit to mix well. Taste and adjust the seasoning accordingly..Then bring the soup to a boil.
- Lower the heat, add in cornstarch slurry in batches to thicken soup to the right consistency. Then bring the soup to a boil again.
- Off heat, add in egg white and stirring constantly at the same time.
- Lastly add in cooking wine and drizzle sesame oil before serving.
🥣 Serving Suggestions
Fish Maw Soup is best served hot, typically as a starter or appetizer in small bowls. To enjoy this soup at its best, add a few dashes of ground white pepper to add a little bit of heat, a few drops of Chinese black vinegar for brightness, and a drizzle of sesame oil for extra aroma.
You can also add a splash of cooking wine, specifically Shao Xing wine to enhance the depth and complexity of the broth. These simple additions bring out the soup’s rich, savory flavors. Be sure to stir everything well before serving to blend the aromatics and seasonings evenly.
✅ Expert Tips for Cooking Best Fish Maw Soup
• Prep ingredients ahead of time, ideally the day before. This reduces stress and saves time during cooking.
• Slice ingredients thinly to create a smoother, more elegant soup texture.
• No need for premium fish maw—a decent, affordable grade works just as well for everyday cooking.
• Fish maw cooks quickly, so add it toward the end of the cooking process to prevent over-softening.
• When thickening the soup with cornstarch slurry, reduce the heat first. Add the slurry gradually while stirring continuously. Once the desired thickness is reached, bring the soup back to a boil.
• Turn off the heat before adding the beaten egg white. Drizzle it in slowly while stirring gently to create silky egg ribbons without overcooking.
Fish Maw Soup
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Ingredients
Ingredients:
- 40 grams dried scallop, steamed to soften
- 1.5 litre water
- 25 grams fish maw
- 4 pieces dried shiitake mushrooms, soak to soften
- 2 stalks spring onions, diced
- 1 egg white, separate white from yolk
Seasoning A:
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ tsp sugar
- 1 tbsp light soy sauce
Seasoning B:
- 1 tsp sesame oil
- 1 tbsp cooking wine
Cornstarch Slurry:
- 2 tbsp cornstarch
- 4 tbsp water
Have ready the main ingredients namely dried fish maw, dried shiitake mushrooms and dried scallop. Also an egg and some spring onion to garnish the soup.
Have ready some water and concentrated chicken stock to prepare the soup base. Also have ready salt, sugar and light soy sauce as seasonings for the soup.
Then soak fish maw in a bowl of hot water. Use a ladle to press the fish maw into the water. Cover with a plate and leave to soak till soft (at least 2 hours). Then cut the softened fish maw into small pieces.
Next, rinse the dried scallop, put in a steaming bowl and add enough water to cover them. Steam for 30 minutes till softened. Once cooled, remove the scallop from liquid and shred into thin pieces. Reserve the liquid to add into the soup.
Soak dried shiitake mushrooms in room temperature water till softened. Then squeeze dry and slice thinly. Set aside.
Crack the egg and separate the yolk from the white. Set aside the egg white for later use.
Make a cornstarch slurry by mixing 2 tbsp cornstarch in 4 tbsp water. Set aside to use to thicken the soup.
First boil some water in a wok or pan. Then add in frozen crabmeat and blanch for a few minutes to remove any frozen smell. Strain and set aside for later use.
Then blanch the thinly sliced mushrooms in the hot water. When the water boils again, add in the fish maw and blanch for another 5 minutes. Remove and squeeze to remove water. Set aside.
Then prepare the chicken stock. In a pot add 1000ml water, scallop water, scallop strips and 1 tbsp chicken stock. Bring to a boil. Next add in the blanched crabmeat, mushrooms and fish maw.
Then add in seasonings. Add salt, sugar and light soy sauce. Stir to mix well. Taste and adjust to liking. Bring the soup to a boil.
Then lower the heat and add in the cornstarch slurry in batches into the soup. When the soup mixture has thicken a bit, increase the heat and continue to stir the soup. Then lower the heat a second time and add in the cornstarch slurry till the right consistency is reached. Increase heat to cook the soup.
Then off the heat before slowly adding in the egg white, stirring at the same time till ribbons formed. And we are done.
Finally add in cooking wine and drizzle sesame oil before serving.
Best to serve hot over black vinegar and garnish with chopped spring onion. So Enjoy!
Instructions
Prepare the Ingredients:
Prepare Cornstarch Slurry:
Cook Fish Maw Soup:
Enjoy!
Recipe Video
Notes
- Prepare the ingredients ahead of time, ideally the day before so it will take away the stress and saves time.
- Make sure ingredients are thinly sliced to ensure a smoother soup texture
- It is not necessary to use a premium grade fish maw. A decent grade at affordable price works well.
- Fish maw cooks fast so it is advisable to add the fish maw into the soup towards the end of cooking.
- When adding the cornstarch slurry. turn down the heat. Add slowly, stirring the soup at the same time, Once the desired consistency is reached, turn up the heat and bring to a boil again.
- Be sure to off the heat before swirling in the beaten egg white. Add slowly into the soup, stirring constantly. This will make sure the egg will not overcook and turn rubbery.
