Fish Maw Soup - More CNY Leftovers

There is a conflict of interest, trying to go on a diet and clearing out the refrigerator.... It is sinful to waste but the digits on the weighing scale has to, has to go down! Keeping the carbs at bay, a simple option is to make a soup that is easy on the digestive system. Trying my best to finish off the last bit of crab meat, I decided to make some fish maw soup. I had once joked with a friend - if there is a war or a major disaster that confines me to my apartment, I probably can feed off my larder for one whole month!  I probably can start a blog project to 'cook my way through my larder' and would probably be able to come up with an interesting mix of western, asian dishes with chocolates and pastries to boot!

I don't think I will ever become a vegetarian but fish maw soup, is a more responsible alternative to shark's fin soup. I have cut down my intake of shark's fins and have made it a point to replace the shark's fin soup with other alternatives when I plan for business dinners at restuarants. Fish maw, for those who are not familiar,  is actually the air bladder in a fish. This internal organ helps the fish to control its bouyancy in water. In Asia, we can buy this easily in supermarkets and dry food provision stores. One of the most convenient form to use is the dried, deep fried version.


I used to have problem differentiating these with deep fried pork skin. They look very similar after deep fried but taste very different. The fish maw has a mild soft crunch and when cooked in soup or gravy, soaks up the flavour of the stock like a sponge. Deep fried pork skin, when cooked in soup, tends to be more rubbery and I can always still detect a porky smell.

The deep fried fish maw has to be soaked to soften before cooking and I would recommend to run it through some hot water to remove excess oil and the fishy smell.

A very simple soup that can be prepared in a jiffy and in my opinion, has more texture and crunch than the shark's fin. Oh, I forgot I also happen to have some cooked abalone from CNY which I cut into fine shreds for a more luxurious and tasty treat.




Recipe :
Cooked crab meat               1/2 bowl
Fish maw                             1 tube, soaked to soften and cut into fine strips
Young ginger                        2 slices
Garlic                                   2 cloves
Chicken stock                      2 bowls
Abalone                               Mid size, cut into strips

Salt                                       to taste
Pepper                                  dash
Chinese Rice wine                 1tbsp

Tapioca starch

Method:

1. Heat oil in a hot wok. Stir fry garlic and ginger quickly until fragrant. Add crab meat and fish maw.
2. Add 1 tbsp of Chinese Rice Wine and stir fry crab meat and fish maw for a minute.
3. Add chicken stock and bring to boil.
4. Lower heat to simmer for 2 minutes. Remove the slices of ginger and garlic. Season with salt and pepper.
5. Mix one 1/2 tbsp of starch flour with 1tbsp of water.  Add this a little at a time to the boiling soup and check for thickness. Do not over starch the soup.