Sweet and Refreshing Crab Soup with Gourd for Summer

Preparation of Ingredients

To separate the crab meat, you can use a sieve, but as Cookbeo normally does, put the crab meat into a bowl and add a bit of water. Squeeze the meat thoroughly until it completely separates from the crab shell.

Stir well, and you'll notice the water turns a dark brown color, which is the color of the crab meat. Then tilt the bowl. The heavier shell will settle at the bottom, while the lighter crab meat will mix with the water above. Pour out the brown water into a pot, stopping just before reaching the shell sediment at the bottom.

Continue adding water, stirring well to further separate the meat, and pour the crab essence into the pot. Keep doing this until you see the water becoming clear, indicating that you've separated most of the crab meat. This way, you should end up with more than 2 liters of crab broth.

Personally, Cookbeo finds this method yields more crab meat than using a sieve. Because the sieve has small holes and the crab meat is finely ground, it can easily get stuck in the sieve.

Slice the dried onions thinly, these will be used to infuse the crab roe for added flavor.

Slice the young gourd thinly, with the thickness of about 0.3-0.5cm.

Gourd has a cooling effect and is excellent for stabilizing blood sugar levels. So besides crab soup with gourd, you can also make gourd soup with shrimp or clams, or you can stir-fry it or simply boil it and serve with a garlic ginger fish sauce dip. It's very tasty and healthy.

For the Malabar spinach, clean thoroughly and chop finely.

Cooking Crab Soup with Gourd

Add 2 teaspoons of soup powder and a pinch of MSG to the crab broth for a deeper flavor. Stir in one direction to help the crab meat clump together and then turn on the stove.

When cooking crab soup, to make the crab meat form into chunks, pay attention to the heat. Don't cook over high heat, as this will cause the crab meat to disperse and could potentially overflow, preventing the formation of chunks. Set the heat to medium and occasionally stir lightly with chopsticks to prevent the crab meat from sticking to the bottom of the pot.

As the water heats up and nears boiling, you'll see the crab meat separating and floating to the top. Stir lightly to help all the crab meat float.

When the water is near boiling, reduce the heat to prevent the crab meat chunks from breaking apart. Cover the pot and cook on the lowest heat until the crab meat chunks are done.

Meanwhile, prepare a pan, add some cooking oil to fry the crab roe. When the oil is hot, fry the dried onions until fragrant. Once the onions have turned golden and fragrant, reduce the heat to the lowest setting and add the crab roe. Stir well, frying the crab roe until fragrant. Keep the heat low as the small amount of crab roe can easily burn. Add a little fish sauce for a richer flavor.

When the crab roe is cooked, add the crab meat chunks from the soup pot and stir with the roe for a richer taste. Cook for about 1 minute before turning off the stove. Cover the pan to keep the crab roe from drying out.

Returning to the crab soup pot, increase the heat. When the water starts boiling again, add the gourd. After about a minute, add the Malabar spinach. When the water boils again, season to taste with soup powder, seasoning powder, and a bit of fish sauce. Adjust the seasoning according to your taste.

After seasoning, continue cooking for about 30 seconds before turning off the stove. Ladle the soup into bowls. Then add the fried crab roe and meat from earlier, pour the soup over, and enjoy.

The crab soup with gourd is fragrant, gently sweet, and refreshing. The crab is rich and creamy, while the gourd and Malabar spinach are soft, sweet, and refreshing. This soup goes wonderfully with a side dish of seared meat and a bowl of pickled eggplant.

Here are some pictures of the finished crab soup with gourd: