Fish Maw Soup

Recipe credited to LeeAnn Chin

Difficulty: Intermediate
Servings: 4 to 5 servings, 10 to 12 banquet portions
Total time: 52 minutes
Preparation: 25 minutes
Resting: 2 minutes
Cooking: 25 minutes

Ingredients:

2 ounces processed fish maw (hot sandblasted, see Cook's Note)
8 thin slices of fresh ginger
6 cups chicken broth
8 medium dried black mushrooms, soaked for 20 minutes, stems removed, and cut into thin strips
1 tablespoon cornstarch
3 tablespoons water
2 egg whites, beaten with salt and white pepper
1 cup julienned yellow chives
1 cup shredded cooked chicken
Salt and white pepper (to taste)

Instructions:

Soak the fish maw in warm water for 2 hours.
Put the fish maw into a 4-quart saucepan and cover it with cold water. Add 4 slices of ginger. Bring to a boil and cook over medium-low heat for 5 minutes. Drain in a colander and rinse with cold water. Squeeze out any excess moisture.
Dice the fish maw into half-inch pieces, discarding any tough parts.
In a large pot, heat the chicken broth with the remaining 4 slices of ginger until boiling. Add the diced fish maw and black mushrooms. Bring to a boil again, then reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 10 minutes.
While the soup simmers, mix the cornstarch with water in a small bowl. Remove the ginger slices from the soup. Turn the heat up to high and slowly stir in the cornstarch mixture. Once the soup returns to a full boil, gradually add the egg white mixture, stirring constantly with a fork until fine strands form.
Taste the soup and adjust the seasoning with salt and white pepper if needed.
Add the shredded chicken and yellow chives, stir gently to combine.
Turn off the heat and serve immediately.

Cook's Note: Fish maw is sold dried and already processed. If you buy unprocessed dried fish maw, which is hard like plastic, you must deep fry it in oil heated to 375F briefly until it puffs up before soaking it as described in the recipe.