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Fish Maw ~ Fa Kau soup



K nown in Cantonese as 'Fa Kau', I made this fish maw soup for our recent Chinese New Year reunion dinner.  Fish maw refers to the fish stomach that has been extracted, cleaned and sundried and is only sold in dried form and needs to be reconstituted before cooking.  After cooking, the texture resembles somewhat like the sea cucumber as it's slippery and gelatinous with a mild fishy and rather bland taste.



Fish maw is harvested from various fish species from the seas around Thailand, Myanmar, India, New Zealand and United States of  America and is believed to be nutritious and good for the lungs, curing persistent coughs and asthma.

 










I added in fish paste mixed with minced pork and threw in some vegetables to infuse the fish maw with some flavour......... a very refreshing soup indeed.

Recipe for Fish Maw ~ Fa Kau soup

Ingredients
  • 50 gm dried fish maw
  • 300 gm pork ribs
  • 100 gm mince pork
  • 150 gm fish paste
  • 250 gm Chinese cabbage - cut
  • 10 peppercorns - crushed
  • 6 cups water
  • Sea salt to taste
Seasoning
  • 1/2 tsp  of salt, sugar and sesame oil
Preparation
  1. Soak the fish maw till soft and blanch with hot boiling water.  Drain, squeeze out the water and cut into pieces.
  2. Mix the mince pork and fish paste with the above seasoning.  Set aside.
  3. Wash the pork ribs and blanch in hot boiling water.  Drain, rinse with cold water and set aside.
  4. Bring the 6 cups of water to the boil, add in the peppercorns and the pork ribs.  Continue to simmer under medium heat for about an hour or so.
  5. Add in the Chinese cabbage and fish maw to the soup and continue to simmer for about 30 mins.
  6. Roughly shape the minced pork fish paste mixture into balls and add into the simmering soup.  Once they float up, they're cooked.
  7. Fine tune to taste and ladle into serving bowls.
  8. Serve hot with rice.


I'm sending this entry to  Weekend Herb Blogging # 319 hosted by 
Chris of  Mele Cotte
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Comments

  1. ann lowJanuary 30, 2012 at 4:20 PM

    I am always the lazy one using all the short cuts to cook my meal but I like your fish maw soup. The soup looks so clear and sounds very healthy too. YUMMY!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sokehah cheahJanuary 31, 2012 at 11:04 AM

      Thanks, Ann. Clear soup has always been my preference.

      Delete
  2. ShirleyJanuary 30, 2012 at 4:23 PM

    Hey Aunty Cheah, how are you doing? That soup sure looks good!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sokehah cheahJanuary 31, 2012 at 11:05 AM

      I'm fine Shirley, just that have been very busy over the Chinese New Year.

      Delete
  3. Smoky Wok (formerly Tastes of Home)January 30, 2012 at 5:15 PM

    delicious and nourishing!! Happy New Year!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Yummy BakesJanuary 30, 2012 at 5:58 PM

    This looks tasty ....

    ReplyDelete
  5. 3 hungry tummiesJanuary 30, 2012 at 6:47 PM

    Perfect for hot Melbourne summer :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sokehah cheahFebruary 1, 2012 at 11:30 PM

      This will help cool you down in the sweltering heat.

      Delete
  6. Belly Good CookingJanuary 30, 2012 at 9:26 PM

    Many people say that fish maw is good for health but I cannot tahan the smell lah. :P

    Gong Xi Fa Cai to you and family. :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sokehah cheahFebruary 1, 2012 at 11:31 PM

      If that's the case, you can add in a small piece of ginger to ward off the fishy smell.

      Delete
  7. lenaJanuary 31, 2012 at 12:04 AM

    oh, i didnt know abt its nutritional value and health benefits, i like your idea using fish maw in this simple soup!

    ReplyDelete
  8. ElinFebruary 1, 2012 at 3:12 PM

    Me too...I like it in simple soup. This soup looks delish. I like anything that has gelatinous texture :) Guess you must be very very busy this CNY and I hope you had a wonderful CNY too :)

    ReplyDelete
  9. VivFebruary 1, 2012 at 7:01 PM

    i think i had this in NZ actually!! apparently its good for the skin too?!? btw, this soup looks soooo delicious...i miss food like that (i don't normally cook asian food that often at home unfortunately!)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sokehah cheahFebruary 3, 2012 at 11:25 AM

      Must be much cheaper in NZ. Back here it's expensive and also depends on the variety. Yes good for complexion.

      Delete
  10. ZoeFebruary 2, 2012 at 7:56 AM

    This simple soup actually look very luxurious to eat as I know that Fish Maw is quite commonly known to be a delicacy for Chinese cooking.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sokehah cheahFebruary 3, 2012 at 11:26 AM

      Yes, this is a delicacy, that's why I don't make it often.

      Delete
  11. ChrisFebruary 7, 2012 at 10:11 AM

    This is something totally new to me! Thanks for introducing me to new ingredients and techniques. The WHB round up should be up soon!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Sokehah cheahFebruary 7, 2012 at 6:14 PM

    Thanks very much Chris. Yes, I believe this is utterly new to you.

    ReplyDelete
  13. pastry arts schoolMay 24, 2012 at 5:15 PM

    Looking points are great, having good sound..!!

    how to become a pastry chef

    ReplyDelete
  14. AnonymousJuly 27, 2012 at 7:29 PM

    Fantastic work man, keep your heads high you did it.
    recipes for salad

    ReplyDelete
  15. AnonymousJanuary 29, 2013 at 3:12 PM

    Your minced pork fish paste will taste even better if you have added minced prawns, diced water chestnut and carrot to give it some crunchiness.
    - Jessie

    ReplyDelete
  16. UnknownJuly 6, 2013 at 7:42 AM

    Wow...I too love a clear soup and will spend days making my broths. Loved this rcipe but didn't use pork with the fish paste. I am soo lucky to live near Vancouver with its MANY different oriental markets and a huge Chinstown. I used shrimp paste and dace paste. And fish maw is actually cheap here. OOO love that stuff. Yhank you for post. Now off to find a good recipe for bamboo pipe fungus.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sokehah cheahJuly 7, 2013 at 12:47 AM

      Thanks for dropping by. Hope to see you more often!

      Delete
  17. AnonymousFebruary 25, 2016 at 4:18 AM

    I was thinking of getting fish stomach for it's collagen benefits but I'm a picky eater and rarely try things out of my comfort zone. It's a texture issue. This dish looks like a texture I might not be able to handle. What do you think it might taste like if I separate the fish maw into small pieces and added it to a clam chowder? Would this work nicely?

    ReplyDelete

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