Vietnamese Crab & Asparagus Soup/ Súp Măng Cua

When I went to Vietnam last summer we spent most of our time in Saigon, also known as Ho Chi Minh City. Everyday was for the most part, an adventure. Either it was meeting new people, exploring new places or most importantly, eating more food. I have never experienced Vietnamese food as good as it was in Vietnam, which obviously makes sense.

Near our hotel was an outdoor market that my family and I would visit almost every single morning. Our popular choices for our meals were either noodle soup or Chè, which is a type of Vietnamese dessert. The woman who sold the Chè also sold the most amazing súp măng cua I have ever tried in my life! Fresh, always steaming hot and filled with deliciously large chunks of crab. This soup has always been one of my favorites and surprisingly its super easy to make too. This recipe is from my mother and is equally as delicious too. Warms me up perfectly on these cold winter days!

This recipe is kind of a mix between the traditional Crab/Asparagus soup and Shark Fin soup. I couldn't find anything else like it online, so I think it might just be something my mom made up herself. My mom's súp măng cua doesn't have any eggs in it, as you see in some other recipes and she adds enoki mushrooms, which is by far my most favorite part of the soup! Also, we use imitation shark fin because we happen to think cutting off the fins of sharks is definitely not right. But in the pictures you can see some clear-ish noodle looking things, which is actually the imitation shark fin. It adds a really nice texture to the soup. I tried looking up imitation shark fin online so I could show you guys what I'm talking about, but no luck! It can definitely be found in Vietnamese grocery stores and I'll update you if I find out more information. If it can't be found, this soup is equally delicious without it.

Vietnamese Crab & Asparagus Soup/ Súp Măng Cua

Yields: about 8 servings

Printable Recipe

10 cups homemade chicken stock, low-sodium canned also works

1 large can white asparagus, drained

2 cans of enoki mushroom, drained

imitation shark fin

1/2 lb. crab meat

1 - 2 tbsn. cornstarch, dissolved in 1/2 cup water

fish sauce, to taste

pepper, to taste

cilantro, chopped (for garnish/ optional)

Heat your chicken stock over medium-high heat. Add the asparagus, mushrooms, imitation shark fin and crab meat. Next, add the corn starch mixture, stir until incorporated and bring to a boil. Stir until thickened, about 1 minute. Turn heat to low and add fish sauce and pepper to taste, top with some cilantro and enjoy!

Food from the Motherland

So this past summer '07, I travelled to Vietnam. I have been there two times before this third trip, but never have I experienced the food like this. I guess when I was younger I just never truly looked at food in the same way that I do now. And now, well now, I worship it as a second god. Not really...I just really, really love it, and true love lasts a lifetime. It's one of those things that I need to live, literally to nourish me but also because it makes me eternally happy. And if that's not enough, what is?

So anyways this trip to Vietnam was culinarily fantastic! Here are some pictures:

Freshly caught and steamed scallops off the coast of Mui Ne, topped with a garlic and scallion oil. Not lying here, this was the best scallop that I have ever encountered. You can give me scallops done by Ripert or Wolfgang any day but I dare-say, these will top anything they have to offer. They were simple and fresh; nothing could be better.

Fried Soft Shell Crab: crispy and refreshing when wrapped in lettuce. When dipped into the sauce, it was a delicious salty explosion. But honestly, what isn't good fried? 

Handmade coconut and caramel candies. They made it right in front of us by handpicking week-old coconut, shaving the "meat", and squeezing it to extract the milk. Then they reduce it and let it harden in shaped wood trays.

Freshly made Vietnamese desserts, named Che, made on a wet, sandy street (dirty by most standards) fresh every morning. And yes, I do realize that that does not provide the best of images for you to think about, but trust me, the intensity of the freshness made my knees weak. It's one of those situations where you were always content with what you had because that was all you had ever known, but after finding something better, you never knew how much you were missing out.