Súp Bắp Cua Chay • Plant-based “crab” & Corn Soup - MM Bon Appétit

Jump to Recipe Print

Mai

Súp bắp cua and súp măng cua are two versions of a soup that is very commonly served as an appetizer at Vietnamese parties and weddings. It is normally made with chicken stock, shredded crab meat, and corn (bắp) or white asparagus (măng tây) – see the link above for our crab & asparagus version.

We are not vegetarian, but we try to eat plant-based for at least half of our meals and have been wanting to make more vegetarian versions of our comfort foods. We bought a lion’s mane mushroom grow kit and got a beautiful harvest from it so I had to make something good.

Since lion’s mane has such a fun stringy texture that resembles crab meat – it’s perfect for this plant-based version.

To make the stock, I used kombu for an oceany taste, carrots & onion for sweetness, and shiitake for some extra depth.

If you eat eggs, you can add egg whites to create those wispy delicate ribbons that is in the traditional crab version and egg-drop soup. Omit to make vegan.

To achieve the must-have texture, the soup is thickened with cornstarch slurry.

Súp bắp cua chay • Plant-based “crab” & corn soup

Course: Appetizers, SoupsCuisine: VietnameseDifficulty: Medium Makes

4

servingsPrep time

15

minutesCooking time

50

minutesTotal time

1

hour

5

minutes Cook Mode

Keep the screen of your device on

Ingredients

• Broth

• 20 g 20 kombu

• 30 g 30 dehydrated shiitake mushrooms

• 150 g 150 white onion (halved or quartered)

• 100 g 100 carrots (greens removed & rinsed)

• 3 liters 3 water

• 2 tsp 2 bouillon powder

• Lion’s mane & marinade

• 300 g 300 fresh lion’s mane mushrooms

• 3 tbsp 3 soy sauce

• 1 tsp 1 bouillon

• 5 tbsp 5 water

• Others

• 200 g 200 baby corn or regular corn kernels

• 40 g 40 shallot

• 1 tbsp 1 vegetable oil

• 3 3 eggs (optional – omit to make vegan)

• 6 tbsp 6 cornstarch

• 5 tbsp 5 water

• Bouillon powder

• Regular or soup soy sauce

• Green onion and/or cilantro (for garnish)

• Ground white pepper (for serving)

Directions

• Add all the ingredients from the “broth” section to a large pot and bring to boil.
• Reduce heat to medium low and simmer covered for 30 minutes.
• In the meantime, tear lion’s mane into strips and add to a medium bowl.
• Mix all the other ingredients in the “marinade” section and pour over the lion’s mane.
• Mix well, cover, and let rest on the counter until it is called for later in the recipe.
• If using canned baby corn: drain and slice into 1/2cm thick pieces.If using canned regular corn: drain and set aside.If using fresh regular corn: shuck, cut kernels off the cob, and boil for about 3 minutes.
• Thinly slice shallot and set aside.
• Once the broth has finished simmering, drain to remove solids, and return broth to pot and keep heat on low.Do not discard the shiitake mushrooms- we will be adding them to the soup.TIP: I save the other solids for another batch of vegetable stock.
• Once the shiitake is cool enough to handle, thinly slice and add back to the broth along with the corn.
• Heat a pan on medium & add vegetable oil.
• Add sliced shallot and sauté for 30 seconds.
• Squeeze the marinating liquid out of the lion’s mane mushroom and add the mushrooms to the pan.Save a tablespoon of the liquid for the next step.
• Sauté for 1 minute. Add the reserved spoon of marinating liquid to deglaze the pan at the end.
• Pour everything in the pan into the pot of broth.
• Increase the heat to medium.
• (Omit to make vegan) Whisk egg whites and slowly pour into the pot, stirring gently in one direction to create ribbons.
• Whisk together the cornstarch and water to make a slurry.
• Pour slurry into the pot very slowly while stirring- stop when the soup reaches your desired thickness. Do not pour the entire thing in at once.
• Season to taste with bouillon and soy sauce.
• Ladle into bowls, garnish with chopped green onion or a sprig of cilantro, and sprinkle with ground pepper to serve.

Did you make this recipe?

Tag @mmbonappetit on Instagram