Crab & Asparagus Soup

Submitted by Chickee

"From the seafood cooking school, Sydney."

 

• Ready In: 1hr
• Ingredients: 11
• Serves: 3-4

ingredients

• 3 (300 g) cooked swimmer live blue crabs (see notes)
• 1 1⁄2 liters chicken stock (recipe follows)
• 1⁄2 teaspoon finely grated gingerroot
• 10 stalks green asparagus, sliced on the diagonal
• 3 green onions, finely sliced on the diagonal
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 2 tablespoons arrowroot, made into a paste with 2 tablespoons water
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 3 tablespoons chopped coriander leaves (optional)
• salt, flakes and
• fresh ground white pepper, to taste

directions

1. Pick meat from crabs, reserving shells.
2. Crush shells, place in a saucepan with the stock and bring to the boil.
3. Reduce heat, crush shells with a meat mallet or wooden spoon as much as possible.
4. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes.
5. Strain, pushing through a fine sieve to extract as much liquid as possible from shells.
6. Strain stock again, through muslin or a very fine sieve, into cleaned saucepan.
7. Add ginger and asparagus spears. Bring to the boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer for about 5 minutes until asparagus is just tender.
8. Add the green onions, sesame oil and arrowroot paste, increase heat and stir until soup thickens.
9. Reduce heat, add crabmeat and slowly pour in egg, stirring slowly so that the egg forms thin ribbons through the soup.
10. Taste, add salt and pepper and serve garnished with coriander leaves if you like.
11. Notes: You can use other types of crabs for this recipe, or 300g fresh crabmeat if you don't want to pick your own.