蟹肉魚肚羹 (鱼膘羹) Fish Maw Crab Meat Soup is an easy and delicious collagen, and lean protein-rich Chinese recipe often served during Lunar New Year and special occasions. Its silky and creamy mouthfeel is irresistible. It is a densely nutritious, easy recipe that can be made with a few simple ingredients.
Although fish maw soup with crab meat is often part of Chinese New Year and wedding banquets, it is common during dim sum and dinner at Chinese restaurants. My parents love to order this whenever we eat out.
In This Post: Everything You'll Need For Crab Meat Fish Maw Soup
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Ingredients and Substitutes
The soup is cozy and soothing, and the stock is fresh and sweet. All the ingredients are soft and tender.
If you are not in a rush, you can make a homemade broth base with chicken, pork bones, Jinhua Ham, dried flounder, dried scallops, beef shank, spring onion, etc. It only takes 3.5 hours to make a delicious savoury pot of stock!
Homemade stock can be stored in an airtight container for up to 5 days in the refrigerator.
A shortcut with chicken stock and a few pieces of dried scallops will also do the trick!
- Dried Fish Maw, resuscitated
- Dried Scallops, resuscitated
- Fresh Crab Claw Meat or Canned Crab Meat
- Corn Starch
- Chicken Broth or homemade stock
- Egg Whites
- Ground White Pepper
- Finely Chopped Green Onions for garnish
- Cold Water
- Fresh Ginger
- Shiitake Mushrooms, resuscitated (optional)
- Chinese red vinegar 大红浙醋 for serving
What is Fish Maw?
The fish maw (魚肚) is the organ of the fish that controls the floating, sinking and lifting of fish in the water. Fish maw is also called a swim bladder.
What is the difference between the 魚肚 yúdù vs 花膠 huā jiāo? Both forms of fish maw are the same thing. They are dried fish maw products, except one refers to a thicker air bladder of a higher-grade fish species.
Yudu used for this fish maw crab soup texture is delicate and cloud-like sponges. HuaJiao, used for Traditional Chinese Medicine Soups, is more gel-like jelly.
Dried fish maws can be found at your local Chinese herbalist or local grocer.
Similar Recipes With Fish Maw
Silkie Chicken Cordyceps Soup with Fish Maw and Conch 蟲草花花膠响螺煲烏雞湯
Fish Maw Benefits
Fish maw soup is a great recipe because it is healthy and contains rich proteins, calcium and nutrients.
花膠 Fish Maw - Sweet and neutral in nature. It targets the liver and kidney meridian and has the effect of moisturizing and nourishing skin, Yin and internal organs. Fish Maw is high in protein, rich in collagen and improves vitality.
Instructions
How To Resuscitate Dry Fish Maw
Soak the fish maw in water overnight in cold water.
Parboil in hot water with green onions and ginger slices to remove impurities and fishiness.
Dice large pieces of fish maw into smaller pieces.
Set aside in the refrigerator.
This can be prepared ahead of time.
If you plan to include dried shiitake mushrooms, learn how to rehydrate dried Chinese mushrooms.
Dried scallops do not need to be resuscitated overnight, unlike dry fish maw or dried Chinese mushrooms. Just soak the dried scallops in water until softened before cooking.
And chicken broth, water and ginger slices in a large stock pot over medium high heat.
Add rehydrated and parboiled fish maw.
Add crab meat to the pot of water. Mix well.
Add white ground pepper to the pot to remove any fishy smell from the fish maw.
Once the fish maw and crab soup starts boiling, slowly add cornstarch water to the pot. Mix well until it thickens and reaches the desired viscosity.
Pro Tip: Cornstarch water is cornstarch mixed with water to create a clear cornstarch slurry to be used as a thickening agent.
Add beaten egg whites to the soup slowly to create beautiful egg ribbons, fluffy swirls and flower-like patterns. If you like egg drop soup, you will love this Vegan Egg Drop Soup Recipe!
Add a pinch of salt to taste.
Serve in a large bowl along with a side of extra ground white pepper and Chinese red vinegar (大红浙醋), and a few slices of ginger.
Other Fish Recipes You'll Love
If you love this festive fish maw soup with crab meat, you may also like our blog's milky fish soup recipe with tofu and baby napa cabbage. It takes little time and minimum effort to nail delicious, kid-approved dinner ideas that require almost no clean-up!
Here are our reader's favourites:
- Chinese Fish Paste Stuffed Peppers 煎讓三寶
- Hong Kong Curry Fish Balls 港式咖哩魚蛋 (街頭小食)
- Ahi Tuna Ceviche with Fresh Cilantro and Mangoes
What To Serve With Fish Maw Crab Meat
Fish Maw and Crab Meat soup is an excellent menu item for Lunar New Year and any celebratory feasts!
The best way to enjoy a scrumptious New Year's Eve reunion dinner is by feasting in abundance and symbolic ingredients:
- Instant Pot Braised Chinese Mushroom 髮菜炆冬菇
- Steamed Money Bag Dumplings 年菜平安金福袋
- Vegan Tofu Stir Fry 五彩金銀滿屋豆乾小炒王
- Hokkigai (Ginger and Scallion Cold Appetizer) 薑蔥北極貝冷盤
- Salt Baked Chicken 鹽焗雞
- Red Bean Soup 紅豆沙
- Osmanthus Flower Jelly with Goji Berry 桂花糕
Fresh Crab Meat and Fish Maw Soup recipe are a classic Chinese that is easy to make at home that you can nail even the first time cooking it!
It can be made with just a few simple ingredients. This soup is packed with natural sweetness, lean protein and collagen.
I guarantee that this will become one of your favourite therapeutic soups!
I'd love to see how you went with this crab recipe! Leave a comment below or tag me on Instagram @INSTANOMSS #INSTANOMSS.
> Recipe
PrintFish Maw Crab Meat Soup 蟹肉魚肚羹 (鱼膘羹)
蟹肉魚肚羹 (鱼膘羹) Fish Maw Crab Meat Soup is an easy and delicious collagen, and lean protein-rich Chinese recipe often served during Lunar New Year and special occasions. Its silky and creamy mouthfeel is irresistible. It is a densely nutritious, easy recipe that can be made with a few simple ingredients.
- Prep Time: 20
- Cook Time: 10
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 4-6 persons 1x
- Category: Soup
- Method: Boil
- Cuisine: Chinese
- Diet: Low Calorie
Ingredients
- 200g Dried Fish Maw, resuscitated, cut into smaller pieces
- 200g Crab Leg Meat or Canned Crab Meat
- 4 Large Dried Scallop, soak in water until softened
- 4 Large Dried Shiitake Mushroom, resuscitated, julienned (optional)
- 1L Chicken Broth or homemade stock
- 500ml water
- 2 Slices of Fresh Ginger
- 3 Egg Whites
- ½ tsp Ground White Pepper and more for serving
- Salt to taste
- 4 Stalks of Green Onions, cut in half
- Finely Chopped Green Onions for garnish
- Fresh Cilantro for garnish
- Chinese red vinegar 大红浙醋 for serving
Corn Starch Slurry
- 3 tbsp Corn Starch
- 4 tbsp Water
Instructions
Resuscitate Dry Fish Maw and Chinese Mushrooms
- Soak the fish maw in water overnight in cold water.
- Parboil in hot water with green onions and ginger slices to remove impurities and fishiness.
- Dice large pieces of fish maw into smaller pieces.
- Set aside in the refrigerator.
- This can be prepared ahead of time.
- If you plan to include dried shiitake mushrooms, learn how to rehydrate dried Chinese mushrooms.
Fish Maw Crab Meat Soup
- Dried scallops do not need to be resuscitated overnight, unlike dry fish maw or dried Chinese mushrooms. Soak the dried scallops in water until softened before cooking.
- And chicken broth, water and ginger slices in a large stock pot over medium-high heat.
- Add rehydrated and parboiled fish maw.
- Add crab meat to the pot of water. Mix well.
- Add white ground pepper to the pot to remove any fishy smell from the fish maw.
- Once the fish maw and crab soup starts boiling, slowly add cornstarch water to the pot. Mix well until it thickens and reaches the desired viscosity.
- Add beaten egg whites to the soup slowly to create beautiful egg ribbons, fluffy swirls and flower-like patterns.
- Add a pinch of salt to taste.
- Serve in a large bowl along with a side of extra ground white pepper and Chinese red vinegar (大红浙醋), and a few slices of ginger.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 pot
- Calories: 84
- Sugar: 2.3 g
- Sodium: 2163.6 mg
- Fat: 1 g
- Carbohydrates: 8.7 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 10.1 g
- Cholesterol: 17.5 mg
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Julia says
How long does fish need to be parboiled?
Nancy says
just a minutes or two will do.
andrea says
this soup turned out absolutely incredible! so delicious and flavorful!
Mina says
This soup is just flavorful and filling. Perfect comfort food, I'd reckon.
Jerika says
I love this Fish Maw Crab Meat Soup it has simple ingredients but it's so delicious. Thank you!:)
Nicole NK says
I just got all the ingredients and can’t wait to make it!
Swathi says
Fish Maw Crab looks delicious. Perfect for any rainy day.
Helen at the Lazy Gastronome says
wonderfully delicious soup!
Andréa Janssen says
Sounds like a delicious recipe!
Amy Liu Dong says
Wow! This is such a great-looking soup! It looks absolutely delicious! I totally love it!
Devi Dang says
Hi, there’s no mentioning of when you should add the dried (rehydrated) scallops? Thanks
Jo Keohane says
Love your recipes, will be giving this a try!
Nancy says
Thanks Jo! Happy to have you on board!
Kushigalu says
Delicious soup recipe to try. Thanks for sharing.
Nancy says
Enjoy this festive soup!
justin says
Made fried rice and this with it and kids loved it too!
Nancy says
I'm so happy to hear even the kids loved it!
Lima Ekram says
The flavor was outstanding! The whole family loved it!
Nancy says
That's awesome!
Joyce says
Made this for our Lunar new year celebration and my mom and dad loved it! Thanks so much for sharing this recipe!
Nancy says
I'm so happy to hear that your parents enjoyed it! It's so nourishing too!
Tayler says
I made this soup for dinner last night and it was delicious! My family loves crab, so we will definitely be making it again.
Nancy says
Woohoo!! i'm so happy to hear everyone loved it! I just love buying extra crab to make soup and to steam with gingers and scallions too!
Elizabeth says
Love trying new food! Thanks for giving us insight on the cultural background of this soup. 🙂
Nancy says
Happy Chinese New Year!
Giangi Townsend says
So delicious! Thank you for your recipe.
Nancy says
You are so welcome Giangi!
Andréa Janssen says
Such a delicious recipe. Thank you for sharing.
Nancy says
make this and celebrate with us!
Audrey says
Yum I love crab meat!
Nancy says
super sweet and delicious!
Liz says
SO creamy, flavorful and delicious! This was a great addition to our dinner on a chilly night!!!
Nancy says
That silky texture is no joke delicious!
Helen at the Lazy Gastronome says
Oh my. Crab soup. So good and elegant!
Nancy says
thank you so much Helen!
Vanessa says
I loved learning about this soup! What a delicious and nourishing way to start the New Year!
Nancy says
Happy New Year! This fish maw is always requested at our family dinners!
Marie-Pierre Breton says
My skin is so dry these days, glad to hear this soup can help out! Plus, love to learn about new ingredients, I'm definitely going to check the Chinese market for those tiny air bladders. Thanks!
Nancy says
Thanks Marie - Always good to nourish and bring that glow from within!
Tiffany says
Thank you, Nancy! Do you have a recipe to make the soup base (stock) from scratch?
Nancy says
I do, Let me post it soon! Do come back for it!
Tiffany says
Will do! 🙂
Nancy says
hi five!
Kristen says
Nancy, this sounds so interesting and so delicious. I LOVE trying new things, so I'm going to give this a shot. I'm hoping my local Asian Market will carry everything I need, any suggestions on the best place to buy ingredients?
Nancy says
Hi Kristen! I think your local Asian market should carry everything! if not your local chinese herbalist will !
Stine Mari says
This crab meat soup is a little different from all the other soups on my dinner rotation, but it looks exciting and absolutely delightful!
Nancy says
You're family will love it!
Ksenia @ At the Immigrant's Table says
pure comfort soup!
Nancy says
I'm totally with you here!
Andréa Janssen says
Looks like a delicious recipe for sure! Thank you for sharing!
Nancy says
Enjoy this cozy soup!
Evi says
Nancy we loved this recipe! The flavor was outstanding, and I can't wait to make it again.
Nancy says
THanks Evi! I'm so happy to hear that you love it!
Jere Cassidy says
This soup looks so creamy and comforting. You always have some amazing recipes and explain what the ingredients are, many I am not familiar with. I love reading about other food culture.
Nancy says
Thanks Jere! I hope this helps you recreate this zero fail recipe!
Katie says
Such a perfect comforting soup for fall/winter! Love all the wholesome ingredients!
Nancy says
I love soup season!
Natalie says
Ful of collagen, proteins, healthy and delicious soup. It is hard to find all that in one recipe. You amazed me again Nancy, thanks!
Nancy says
Thanks Natalie! I hope you enjoy this wellness soup!
Ieva says
I remember trying a version of this soup in a lovely Chinese Restaurant in Singapore and absolutely loving it! I will definitely have to arrange a trip to our International Foods shop for the ingredients! Cannot wait to make it!
Nancy says
Now you won't have to travel to enjoy this soup again!
Amanda Wren-Grimwood says
So light and refreshing, I love the combination of seafood and mushrooms - gorgeous recipe!
Nancy says
THanks Amanda! I'm so glad you love the flavour combination!
Gabby says
We are a five minute walk from a fish market and I rarely go. This gave me a good reason to - and my husband absolutely loved this recipe. I definitely don't make him enough seafood meals but he really enjoyed this.
Nancy says
Omgoodness! i'm jealous you are so close to a good fish market!
Farah says
Love crab meat soup and the ginger and green onions sound so flavorful. Can't wait to try this out!
Nancy says
Thanks Farah! You will love it - send pictures!
MacKenzie says
This looks amazing. Love all the nutrition packed into one bowl.
Nancy says
enjoy the glowing complexition!
Shelby says
I love the texture of this, comes out so creamy!
Nancy says
It's totally the collagen that gives it that nice creamy mouthfeel!
Gina Abernathy says
Crab is so good and tasty. My daughter is a seafood nut, so this was perfect for her dinner.
Nancy says
I love seafood a lot too myself! I'm sure she will LOVE this!
sonal says
I was literally drooling while scrolling through the instructions. This soup sounds so comforting and delicious.
Nancy says
Enjoy Sonal! You will love it!
Bernice says
I've seen soup on menus when we go out but I didn't know what it was! It does look delicious and I really love it when a food is not only tasty but has a special texture. You are also right in saying that it is always worth it to make your own stock! Good food takes time.
Nancy says
Bernice! Now you can not only order this at restaurants but also make it yourself! Send pictures!
Kim says
This looks like such an interesting soup recipe! And it looks healthy, too. Lots of protein. I can't wait to try it!
Nancy says
Enjoy this classic recipe Kim!
Stephanie says
I love crab meat so I'm sure I would love this soup too! I can't wait to try it. I really enjoy replicating authentic Chinese dishes at home. That way I can make sure there are lots of leftovers!
Nancy says
I love making this at home so i can pack in the extra crab meat!! I love a good bowl with lots of seafood!