In the Chinese repertoire of soups, there’s a type of soup called a “gung” (羹) in Cantonese.   These soups are traditionally thickened with corn starch or other thickeners and served as an appetizer during meals.  I don’t make these soups very often, but once in awhile, it’s a nice addition to my menu.  I also find that these types of “gung” soups usually come out during the winter days, which is perfect for our cold weather now in Hong Kong!

This one is made with fish maw (or fish stomach) and fresh chicken breast, both excellent sources of low-fat protein!  It takes around 30-40 minutes to make and serves a pretty filling soup that is ideal for the whole family!  Try it and let me know what you think!  

Ingredients

• 1 bag of dried fish maw
• 4-6 pieces of skinless chicken breast, cubed
• 2-3 slices of fresh ginger
• frozen peas
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup of Chinese ham, diced
• 1 can of small chicken broth
• 2 L of water
• 4 tablespoons of cornstarch
• soy sauce
• Chinese wine
• sesame oil
• salt
• pepper
• Parsley
• Green onions

Cooking Instructions

1. Boil your soup water, throw in yours ginger and the dried fish maw.  Boil on high for 10 minutes, or until the fish maw is completely soft.  You’ll need to use chopsticks or something to push them into the water or else they will just float about and not really soften.
2. Remove the fish maw from the water, let cool and dice into bite sized pieces
3. Dice your chicken and Chinese ham into bite sized pieces
4. Marinate your chicken breast with:  1 teaspoon of Chinese wine, 1 teaspoon of soy sauce, a drizzle of sesame oil, 1 tablespoon of cornstarch, sprinkle of salt and pepper – mix well together
5. In your soup, add fish maw, diced chicken breast and let it boil for 5 minutes on medium heat.  Then throw in frozen peas and ham.
6. In a small bowl, add cold water to 4 tablespoons of cornstarch and mix until dissolved.  Then slowly, drizzle this into your soup on medium heat while you continuously stir

For more videos, visit us on YouTube.