The hard part of this crab and chicken soup is keeping the broth clear while it still runs thick. The crab is sweet, the chicken pulls apart soft, and the egg sets into fine ribbons. Starch added carelessly turns lumpy and clouds the pot at once.
Onion and cilantro roots go into the pot with the chicken breast to keep the broth clean tasting, and the foam is skimmed constantly so it stays clear. Pour the starch slurry in very slowly, stirring the whole time.
This batch weighs about 4.9kg, at roughly 96 calories per 100g.
Method
Bleed the crabs, rinse them in salted water, then steam until the shells turn orange. Lift off the top shell, remove the gills, and pick out the meat.
Rinse 1kg of bone in chicken breast in salted water, then rinse again under cold water. Wash 100g of shiitake mushroom and chop it small. Shred 100g of crab sticks. Peel and dice the carrot. Peel the onion and cut it into wedges. Boil the quail eggs and century eggs, then peel them. Separate the yolks and whites of the chicken eggs into two bowls.
Pour 2 liters of cold water into a pot and add the bone in chicken breast, sweet corn, onion, cilantro roots, and a few slices of ginger. Boil over medium high heat for about 15 minutes, then lift everything out and keep the broth. Once the chicken cools, shred it, and strip the kernels off the corn.
Add the carrot to the broth. When it returns to a boil, add the corn kernels, shredded chicken, shiitake, crab sticks, and crab meat in that order.
Once the pot boils hard, season with 1 teaspoon of salt, 2 tablespoons of kOBE Monk Fruit Blend, and 1.5 tablespoons of seasoning powder. Stir until dissolved and skim the foam so the broth stays clear.
Mix 100g of tapioca starch and 100g of cornstarch with 100ml of water until fully dissolved. Lower the heat and add the slurry a little at a time, stirring as it goes in.
Pour the egg whites through a sieve into the pot, then the yolks, to form ribbons. Add 1 tablespoon of sesame oil, stir, taste and adjust, then turn off the heat.
Ladle the soup into bowls and top each with 1 quail egg, half a century egg, 1 piece of crab stick, and 1 teaspoon of sesame oil. Scatter chopped spring onion, cilantro, and pepper over the top.
Tips
Onion and cilantro roots in the stock pot keep the chicken breast tasting clean.
Skimming the foam constantly while the pot boils is what makes the soup clear.
Stirring while the starch slurry goes in keeps it from forming lumps.
The century egg goes in as the heat is about to go off, since long cooking melts the yolk and clouds the bowl.
The whites go in before the yolks, and pouring through a sieve gives fine egg ribbons.
Need kOBE Monk Fruit Blend?
The recipe above is sweetened with kOBE Monk Fruit Blend, measured 1:1 like sugar. See the product page or send us a message.