In family meals, soup is always an essential dish. Let’s join TasteVN in the kitchen to make the family’s meal more flavorful with 3 ways to cook crab soup with water spinach, straw mushrooms, and fermented rice!
1. Crab soup with water spinach
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Preparation
40 minutes
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Difficulty
Easy
Ingredients for Crab soup with water spinach Serves 3 people
Fresh crab 500 gr Water spinach 150 gr Morning glory 100 gr Taro 150 gr (small) Shallots 1 bulb Cooking oil 1 tablespoon Fish sauce 1 tablespoon Common spices a little (pepper/sugar/MSG/seasoning salt/salt)
How to choose fresh ingredients
How to choose good water spinach
- To choose good water spinach, select the young stems with many leaves, having a thick, fluffy buoy, and bright green color freshly picked so that when cooked, it will be crispy and fragrant.
- Avoid choosing water spinach that is bruised or has turned yellow or black, as this may indicate old vegetables.
How to choose good morning glory
- You should choose fresh bundles of morning glory that look green, with intact stems, dry, and free from pests and rot.
- You can gently snap the stem of the morning glory; if it is crispy, it is still fresh. If the stem is tough and hard to break, it should not be chosen.
- You should not choose stems that are too crispy, with dark green leaves that are shiny and smooth. This type of morning glory is often over-fertilized with nitrogen, which is not good for health.
- When choosing morning glory, avoid bundles with very thick stems; instead, select those with moderate stems and small tips, as they will be much tastier and crunchier.
How to choose good taro
- Good taro has a round shape like a chicken egg, with a rough skin and many roots. Fresh tubers often have a lot of dirt stuck to the skin. You should also choose smaller tubers as they tend to be sweeter and more tender than larger ones.
- It is better to select bunches of taro instead of choosing one root at a time. If it is old taro, only select the smaller tubers and avoid the largest one (the biggest tuber in the bunch), as this one is often tough and not tasty.
- If it is fresh taro, you should choose the largest tuber because new taro is usually firm and sweeter than younger ones.
- Avoid choosing tubers with many dark spots or rotten areas, as this is usually a sign of spoiled taro.
- Avoid buying large, long-shaped tubers, as they may be taro mixed with other types to deceive buyers.
How to prepare Water Spinach Crab Soup
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Preliminary preparation of freshwater crabs
Soak the crabs in diluted salt water for about 10 minutes to clean the mud, then rinse them with clean water. Remove all the crabs, separate the shells, and discard the apron, then separate the crab meat and crab roe, placing each type aside.
Season the crab roe with 1/4 teaspoon of pepper, 1/4 teaspoon of seasoning powder, and mix well.
Add about 1/3 teaspoon into a mortar, add the crab meat, and pound it finely, then add about 1 liter of water.
Tip: Pounding crab meat with a pestle will help keep the crab meat firm and not break apart.
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Prepare the remaining ingredients
Water spinach and water lily should be washed clean, remove any deep leaves, and then cut into small pieces. Shallots should be finely chopped.
Taro should be washed clean, peeled, and then cut into bite-sized pieces.
How to prepare taro without getting itchy:
- You should wear gloves when peeling taro; this will limit the contact of taro sap with your hands.
- After buying taro, do not wash it immediately; instead, leave the layer of dirt on the outside and peel it with dry hands. Then soak the taro in diluted salt water for about 10 minutes and rinse it clean with water.
- You can also lightly roast the taro on the stove to dry the skin a bit; this will also help reduce the sap from leaking out.
See details: How to peel taro without getting itchy
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Cooking crab broth
Place a pot on the stove and add 1 tablespoon of cooking oil, sauté the minced shallots until fragrant, then add the crab roe and stir well, then add the crab meat broth, season with 1 tablespoon of seasoning powder, 1/2 teaspoon of monosodium glutamate, 1/2 teaspoon of sugar, then stir well, cook until the water boils and remove the crab foam.
Tip: Sautéing the crab roe before cooking will help the roe have a fragrant smell and beautiful color.
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Cooking crab soup
Add the taro to the pot, cook until the taro is soft, then gradually add the water spinach and the water lily, cook for about 3 – 5 minutes, then add the crab foam, season with 1 tablespoon of fish sauce, mix well and then turn off the heat, serve the soup in a bowl and garnish with a little cilantro and chili to finish.
Tip: Cooking the taro until soft before adding the water spinach and water lily will help create a rich texture for the dish.
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Final Product
The broth is fragrant, sweet, and rich, with the crispiness of water lily and water spinach, the chewy and starchy taro, sweet crab meat, all creating an attractive and delicious crab soup with water lily, enhancing the family’s meal experience.
2. Crab soup with straw mushrooms
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Preparation
40 minutes
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Difficulty
Easy
Ingredients for Crab soup with straw mushrooms For 3 people
Field crab 500 gr Grated snakehead fish 100 gr Straw mushrooms 50 gr Ground pork 40 gr Watercress 300 gr Chopped shallots 2 tablespoons Cooking oil a little Common seasoning a little (MSG/seasoning powder/pepper)
How to choose fresh ingredients
How to choose good straw mushrooms
- For straw mushrooms, you should choose those that are round, still have buds, fresh, and uniform in size.
- Do not choose mushrooms that have fully opened; black straw mushrooms are tastier than white ones.
- Note not to buy straw mushrooms that are soft or have a musty smell.
See details: How to choose fresh mushrooms
How to choose delicious climbing perch
You can buy fresh climbing perch to clean and scrape the meat at home, or purchase pre-scraped ones as mentioned in the article.
- For fresh climbing perch: You should choose fish with clear eyes, shiny scales on the body, firm and thick flesh for easier scraping.
- For pre-scraped climbing perch: choose parts with bright, pink or light pink meat, not dull or pale, and without any strange fishy smell.
- If you buy packaged fish meat, you must carefully check the expiration date and whether the packaging is intact.
How to choose delicious pork
- Fresh pork will have a dry outer membrane, and the cut surface will feel firm to the touch without any stickiness.
- The fresh meat has a pinkish-red color, while the fat is opaque white.
- If you see meat that is dark red or blackish, you should not buy it as it may be pork raised with lean meat additives.
- Avoid buying meat that is light green, dark purple or has red skin.
- You should choose meat that bounces back when pressed, and has a characteristic fresh meat smell.
-800x450-37.jpg "3 Ways to Cook Crab Soup with Water Morning Glory, Straw Mushrooms, and Fermented Rice for a Family Meal Variation 21")
How to prepare Crab soup with straw mushrooms
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Prepare the field crab
Soak the crabs in diluted salt water for about 10 minutes to clean the mud, then rinse with clean water. Remove the crabs, separate the shell to get the roe and crab meat. The crab meat is ground finely and placed in a separate bowl, add filtered water, stir well, and strain through a sieve to get the crab meat juice.
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Prepare the fish cake
Add 1 tablespoon of minced shallots, 1/3 teaspoon of pepper, and 1/4 teaspoon of seasoning into the fish cake mixture, then mix thoroughly. Next, add the minced meat and continue to mix well.
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Cook the crab broth
Place a pot on the stove and add the filtered crab meat water, bring to a boil, then skim off the crab foam.
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Fry the fish cake
Scoop about 1 teaspoon of the fish cake mixture and shape it into an oval.
Heat a pan with oil, when the oil is hot, add the fish cakes and fry until golden brown, then remove to a plate lined with paper towels.
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Stir-frying straw mushrooms
Add 1 tablespoon of cooking oil into the pan, sauté 1 tablespoon of minced shallots until fragrant, then add the halved straw mushrooms and crab meat and stir-fry evenly.
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Cooking the soup
Add the stir-fried straw mushrooms and fish cake into the pot, season with 1 tablespoon of seasoning powder, 1/2 teaspoon of monosodium glutamate, when the water boils, add the chopped watercress, turn off the heat and ladle the soup into bowls, add the crab fat on top to complete.
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Final product
The completed soup will have a fragrant and sweet flavor from the broth, combined with the chewy fish cake, rich crab meat, and refreshing watercress. What are you waiting for? Let’s make it right away!
3. Crab soup cooked with fermented rice
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Preparation
30 minutes
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Difficulty
Easy
Ingredients for Crab soup cooked with fermented rice For 3 people
Ground freshwater crab 200 gr Fermented rice 150 gr Tomato 2 pieces Shallots 50 gr (sliced thin) Green onions 4 stalks Cilantro 30 gr Cooking oil 2 tablespoons Corn starch 1 teaspoon Common spices a little (sugar/MSG/salt)
How to choose fresh ingredients
How to choose fresh tomatoes
- You should choose tomatoes with smooth skin, plump and juicy, bright red color, and green stems.
- Avoid choosing those that are bruised or have small black spots, with uneven colors of both green and red.
- If they feel too soft or too hard to the touch, or if juice flows out, do not buy them, as they may be spoiled.
See details: How to choose fresh tomatoes for cooking
How to choose good fermented rice
- You can find fermented rice at markets, supermarkets, or reputable food stores. When buying, pay attention to choose fresh fermented rice with a characteristic sour taste, and not moldy.
- Additionally, you can also make it at home if you want to ensure safety and hygiene.
-800x450-26.jpg "3 Ways to Cook Crab Soup with Water Morning Glory, Straw Mushrooms, and Fermented Rice for a Family Meal Variation 40")
How to make Sour Crab Soup
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Prepare crab meat
Season the minced crab meat with 1/2 teaspoon of salt, then stir well, gradually add in 1 liter of clean water and stir evenly, then filter through a sieve to extract the crab meat juice.
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Sauté onions and stir-fry tomatoes
Heat a pan on the stove and add 2 tablespoons of cooking oil. When the oil is hot, add 30g of thinly sliced purple onions mixed with 1 teaspoon of cornstarch and sauté until the onions turn golden and fragrant, then remove them.
Add 20g of fried onions and 1 tomato cut into wedges and stir-fry until the tomato changes color, then turn off the heat.
Tip: When the onions just turn golden, remove them to avoid burning.
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Cooking crab broth
Place the pot containing crab meat water on the stove and turn on medium heat; when the crab meat starts to rise and forms a scum, proceed to strain the sour water into the pot.
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Cooking soup
Add the sautéed tomatoes to the pot, season with 1 teaspoon of salt, 1 teaspoon of monosodium glutamate, 1 tablespoon of sugar; when the water boils, add 1 tomato cut into wedges, adjust the seasoning to taste, then turn off the stove, ladle into a bowl and add chopped herbs and fried shallots.
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Final Product
Crab soup cooked with fermented rice is quite simple to make; however, it results in an attractive dish with a rich broth fragrant with fermented rice, sweet crab meat, and pairs well with fresh vegetables.
TasteVN would like to share with you another super delicious recipe for crab soup cooked with fermented rice, enhanced with chives to make the dish visually appealing and fresh. Click on the article below to see this super simple recipe right away!See details: Unique and extremely delicious crab soup recipe for the whole family
How to choose delicious fresh river crabs
- Choose river crabs that are a dull grayish purple color, with the shell being lighter in color. To select crabs with more meat, choose male crabs with a small and pointed apron, while for crabs with more roe, choose female crabs with a larger apron, often referred to as a flower apron.
- Choose those that still move quickly, with claws and legs intact and flexible. Pressing the apron shell with your hand and seeing bubbles form indicates the crab is still fresh.
- To make a delicious crab soup, the crabs must be pounded by hand; the crab meat will be soft, smooth, and retain its distinctive flavor. If you’re short on time, you can grind the crabs using a blender, but the crab meat will often be fluffy and grainy.
- Avoid choosing river crabs that have red eyes, have hair on the underside, or have star-like spots on their back.
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Recently, there are 3 ways to cook crab soup with water spinach, straw mushrooms, and fermented rice to enhance the meal for your family. TasteVN wishes you success!
*Refer to images and recipes from YouTube channels: Delicious Dishes Every Day, Wife’s Kitchen.
