Growing up, Mai always associated súp măng cua with weddings. You’ll often find a version of this soup on Vietnamese wedding banquet tables. It is not clear why, but Mai’s guess is that it is considered relatively fancy- with ocean crab and white asparagus- which are not everyday ingredients.
This soup, like bánh mì or patê-sô, is a Vietnamese creation with French ingredients/influence. Asparagus is a temperate weather crop and is not native to Southeast Asia- it was likely introduced to Vietnam by the French during the colonial period.
This gorgeous soup takes a bit of effort to make but it is so worth it. The delicate flavor of the crab meat and sweetness of the asparagus are combined beautifully in an umami chicken broth. The swirls of egg whites suspended in the rich and thick soup, along with the occasional quail egg make this soup truly an experience to savor.
Súp măng cua
Course: SoupsCuisine: VietnameseDifficulty: Medium4
servings1
hour45
minutesIngredients
- Broth
250 g 250 chicken breast
500 g 500 chicken bones (or replace chicken breast & bone with half chicken)
2 L 2 water
1 1 white onion – peeled and quartered
2 2 shallots – peeled
- Soup
500 g 500 asparagus (preferably white)
10 10 quail eggs
500 g 500 crab meat (large lumps are best)
2 2 shallots – thinly sliced
2 2 eggs
4 tbsp 4 tapioca starch or cornstarch
3 tbsp 3 water
1 tbsp 1 bouillon powder
Fish sauce (to taste)
- For serving
Green onion
Cilantro
Ground black pepper
Directions
- If using half or whole chicken, separate the meat from the bones and set aside.
- Add the chicken bones, white onion, shallots, and water to a large pot. Heat on high until boiling, then reduce heat to medium and cook for 30 minutes.
- Add chicken breast(s) and continue cooking for 30 minutes.
- Boil the quail eggs for 10 minutes.
TIP: instead of using a separate pot, you can rinse the raw eggs well beforehand and add them to the broth. Use a strainer to remove them after 10 minutes and add to an ice bath. Peel and set aside. - Remove the chicken breasts from the broth and set aside to cool. Strain the broth and discard the bones, onion, shallots. Return broth to the pot.
- Wash the asparagus and cut into ~3cm lengths.
- Once chicken is cool enough to handle, shred and add back into the broth. Heat on high until boiling.
- Reduce heat to medium and add in asparagus.
- In the meantime, heat a tbsp of vegetable oil in pan on medium high, sauté sliced shallots until fragrant, add crab meat and 1 tsp fish sauce, and sauté for 5 minutes.
- Add the sautéed crab meat to the pot, increase the heat back to high and bring to boil.
- Crack 2 eggs, separating the yolks and whites. Save yolks for another recipe. Whisk the whites.
- When the soup is boiling, pour the whites in slowly and stir gently in a circular motion. This will help the eggs whites form ‘ribbons’ in soup. Do not stir too hard because the whites will be broken down too much.
- Whisk together the tapioca/cornstarch with water in a small bowl.
- Pour mixture into the soup and stir to mix well. This will give the soup that nice and thick consistency. Add more if needed.
- Add in quail eggs.
- Season with bouillon powder and fish sauce to taste.
- Ladle soup into a bowl, sprinkle with ground black pepper and garnish with sliced green onion and cilantro. Serve while hot!
Did you make this recipe?
Tag @mmbonappetit on Instagram
