This Fish Maw Soup is a luxurious yet easy-to-make Chinese delicacy, rich in collagen and full of flavor. Made with just a few ingredients and ready in under 20 minutes, it’s perfect for festive occasions or as a nourishing homemade treat.
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.
Prepare Cornstarch Slurry:
Make a cornstarch slurry by mixing 2 tbsp cornstarch in 4 tbsp water. Set aside to use to thicken the soup.
Cook Fish Maw 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!
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.