My mom sent us a package full of stuff for Chinese New Year. It had homemade dried pork, lop cheurng, dried dates, dried squid, melon candy, pork sung, and fish maw. My husband thought the fish maw looked like pork rinds. Well, they do, but if he tried to eat them I doubt they’d taste like pork rinds .
Fish maw, like tofu, is used more for its unique texture and ability to soak up other flavors it’s cooked with. It is almost tasteless in itself. It’s spongy, like sea cucumber. For Chinese New Year this would be an ideal soup to serve.
There are a couple ways fish maw is sold – processed and unprocessed. Processed means it is already fried and ready to be soaked in water. Unprocessed means it needs to be fried (by you) then soaked in water. You can tell if its processed if it looks puffed up, like pork rinds. The unprocessed ones look thinner and feel a lot harder.
For other Chinese New Year Recipes, here are a few ideas:
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Fish Maw Soup
Ingredients
- • 1 cup processed fish maw, reconstituted in water and chopped
- • 6 cups chicken broth
- • 1/2 cup sliced ginger
- • 6-8 shiitake mushrooms
- • 5 dried scallops, reconstituted in water
- • 2 egg whites
- • 1 Tbsp cornstarch + 3 Tbsp water
- • salt
- • white pepper
- • red vinegar (optional)
Directions
- Step 1 Soak the fish maw, mushrooms (if you are using the dried version) and scallops in a bowl of cold water until tender.
- Step 2 In a medium pot, boil a few (3 or 4) slices of ginger. Add the fish maw and boil for a minute or so. This will get rid of the remaining fishiness of the maw. Take out of boiling water and chop into 1/2 inch pieces. Put fish maw back into the bowl of cold water.
- Step 3 Bring chicken broth to a boil. Add remaining ginger, fish maw, mushrooms, scallops, simmer for 10 minutes. Add cornstarch and water mixture to thicken soup. If you want it to thicken more, add more cornstarch + water. Stir in egg whites. Add salt and white pepper to your taste. Serve in bowls with red vinegar if your guests desire it.
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Instructions with Photos:
Soak the fish maw, mushrooms (if you are using the dried version) and scallops in a bowl of cold water until tender.
In a medium pot, boil a few (3 or 4) slices of ginger.
Add the fish maw and boil for a minute or so. This will get rid of the remaining fishiness of the maw.
Take out of boiling water and chop into 1/2 inch pieces. Put fish maw back into the bowl of cold water.
Bring chicken broth to a boil. Add remaining ginger, fish maw, mushrooms, scallops, simmer for 10 minutes.
Add cornstarch and water mixture to thicken soup. If you want it to thicken more, add more cornstarch + water. Stir in egg whites. Add salt and white pepper to your taste.
Serve in bowls, with red vinegar and white pepper as condiments.
Happy New Year!