2 1/2 qt water
2 lb pork bones
2 tsp salt
1 tbsp fish sauce (nuoc mam)
1 tsp vegetable oil
1 clove garlic, chopped
2 shallots or
2 scallions, chopped white part
1/2 lb crab meat, fresh, frozen, or canned
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
2 tsp cornstarch dissolved in
2 tbsp water
1 egg
1 can (15 ounces) white asparagus, undrai, ned
1/4 cup chopped fresh coriander (chinese pa, rsley)
1/4 cup chopped scallion greens
Directions
The French introduced asparagus to the Vietnamese, who promptly
incorporated this classic vegetable into their cuisine. The
Vietnamese word for asparagus is "Western bamboo," due to its
resemblance to bamboo shoots. asparagus is universally popular
throughout Vietnam, this light, tasty dish will delight your family
as well.
Bring water to a boil and put the pork bones in. Remove the scum, then
cover and continue to boil the bones for 1 hour. Remove the bones
from the stock and discard. Add the salt and the fish sauce to the
stock.
Heat the oil and add the chopped garlic and shallots; add the crab
meat and fry for 5 minutes over high heat. Sprinkle with 1/8 teaspoon
of black pepper, stirring constantly, then add the crab meat mixture
to the soup and bring to a boil. Add the cornstarch-and-water
mixture and stir for a few minutes.
Break the egg open and drop it into the actively boiling soup while
stirring. Cook, still stirring, for about 2 minutes, then drop in the
asparagus, along with the liquid from the can and the rest of the
black pepper. Continue to cook until the asparagus is heated through.
Sprinkle the coriander and scallion green over the soup before
serving.
Makes 6 to 8 servings.
From "The Classic Cuisine of Vietnam", Bach Ngo and Gloria Zimmerman,
Barron's, 1979.
Posted by Stephen Ceideberg; May 24 1993.
Servings: 6 servings
Asparagus Crab Soup (Sup Mang Tay Cua) Recipe brought to you by Recipe Ideas
Categories: Crab; Fish; Seafood; Soup; Vegetable
The History of Recipes
It is quite feasible to trace the history of transcribed cooking instructions far back into history, certainly as far back into history as the Egypt of the Pharoahs, and potentially, even further back. However, sadly, these old recipes were just primitive pictorial instructions for food preparation.
Interestingly, the oldest recipe discovered so far, according to experts is a collection of stone tablets in the Sumerian language which describe the making of bread which is then used to make a drink, quite possibly a form of beer as it is recorded as having made anyone who drank it feel `blissful`. Closer to modern times, we find two recipe books published in the fourteenth century - a recipe book entitled `Forme of Cury`, and another, similary called `Curye on Inglish`. Surprisingly, they are not about the curry that is familiar to us all today, but instead descriptions of the types of meals on the menus of the upper classes of that time. During the next few hundred years, the powerful and rich houses competed to serve up the most extravagent banquests, and because of this the best chefs and their recipes became highly prized. Nevertheless, it was during the nineteenth century that formal cookery and recipe collections reached a high level of popularity. The Famous Mrs Beeton in the UK, and the equally well-known Fannie Merritt Farmer in the US, devoted much of their lives to collating, trying out, and publishing the recipes that were being prepared for the better households. By the time we get to the twentieth century, cook books were highly popular as a result of higher levels of literacy, people having increased leisure time and disposable income. Like it or not, the introduction of TV gave us TV cooks and the demand for the spin-off recipe books. And that brings us to the present day and the internet revolution, permitting everybody to access massive numbers of recipes like the ones you can find on sites such as this. |
We hope you enjoy this Asparagus Crab Soup (Sup Mang Tay Cua) recipe.
