Asaragus Crab Soup

One of my favorite soups of all time is Vietnamese asaragus crab soup. Asparagus was introduced to Vietnam by the French and since the shoots resemble bamboo shoots (mang), Vietnamese call asparagus “mang tay” or western bamboo. Most of the time the “tay” is drop from the name of the soup. Sup mang cua has a slightly thick, silky texture and combines the sweet and succulent flavors of crab and beautiful white asparagus. Most Vietnamese soups (canh) are designed to be eaten with rice as part of a meal but this soup is typically serve as a first course in wedding dinner banquets or celebrations and is great on it’s own because it’s pretty hearty with all the fixings in it. In addition to the crab and white asparagus other common ingredients include enoki mushrooms, beaten eggs, scallops, imitation shark fin, and tapioca starch, pepper, fish sauce, and salt.

It is usually served as "shark fin soup" at weddings. We use imitation shark fin in my mom's version. It is very simple to make. The tapioca starch thickens the soup and creates a silky texture. You can use corn starch if you don't have tapioca starch. This is how my mom and I make the soup. Other people use chicken stock from the store instead of making their own. I personally think that the soup tastes better when the broth is cooked from scratch. Other people also put different things in the soup. My family prefers enoki mushrooms, scallops, white asaragus, imitation shark fin, crab, and beaten eggs. This soup is perfect on a cold day or any day.

xoxo,
Kat