Some time back, Chele and I discovered that the local H Mart sometimes carries packages of frozen, shelled crawfish tails. I absolutely love crawfish, but it is an uncommon find here in the Chicago region and is typically only available whole. This means that I haven’t often cooked with crawfish, since shelling the little buggers to get at the meat is a tremendous amount of work. Ecstatic to run across ready-to-use one-pound packages, I took a couple home and quickly pulled up some recipes that I had bookmarked years ago but never had the option of making. Of the ones that both Chele and I could share, this crawfish soup recipe from eatsmarter.com was our clear favorite. We both love mushrooms and asparagus, and the recipe looked rather easy, so trying it out was a no-brainer. We enjoyed the result quite a bit, but quickly saw some changes we could try to make it more our own style.
First up, it needed more mushrooms. Wood ears don’t really add a ton in the flavor department, to be honest, but their unique crunchy/chewy texture brings a lot to the table when it comes to soups and stir-fry. The contrast they make with the softer textures of the crawfish and asparagus are really what bring this soup home, so we wanted to play that up. Doubling the amount gave us the result we were after.
Next up was the broth. The original recipe simply used chicken stock with a little bit of soy sauce. Nice, but we found it a bit lacking considering the mild flavors of the other ingredients involved. We swapped the soy sauce for coconut aminos, both because they are gluten-free (and therefore safe for Chele’s celiac disease), and because their sweeter flavor brings out the natural sweetness in the crawfish. Then we kicked things up a little with some Cajun seasoning, and added some significant umami depth with a liberal application of black garlic. A little bit of fresh green onion sprinkled on top proved to be the final piece missing from the puzzle.
Chele and I made short work of our revamped version, and it was a big hit with Chele’s husband, Chris, as well. Chris enjoyed it so much that he requested we make it again and make sure there were enough leftovers for him. We were happy to oblige, and it gave us a chance to dial in the recipe so we could share it with you all.
Crawfish, Asparagus and Wood Ear Mushroom Soup
Ingredients
- 1 lb crawfish tail meat
- 2 cups asparagus sliced into 1" pieces
- 2 quarts chicken broth
- 6 wood ear mushrooms dried
- 1 tbsp cornstarch
- 1 tbsp coconut aminos
- 1½ tsp salt
- ¾ tsp Cajun seasoning
- sea salt and black pepper to taste
- 6 cloves black garlic
- sliced green onion optional garnish
- fresh cilantro leaves optional garnish
Instructions
- Briefly rinse dried wood ear mushrooms to remove any dirt or grit that might be hiding in them. Place them in a small bowl of warm water and let them soak until fully rehydrated (about 20 mins). Drain, shake off any excess water, then slice them into thin strips. Set aside.
- In a large pot (at least 4 quarts), heat chicken broth over medium heat until it reaches a boil.
- While broth is heating, place black garlic in a small bowl and mash it with a fork. You are aiming to turn it into a paste, but it does not need to be perfectly smooth.
- Once broth has reached a boil, ladle 1 cup of it into the bowl with the black garlic. Add coconut aminos and cornstarch, then whisk until fully blended. Pour back into the pot.
- Reduce heat to a simmer. Add asparagus and cook until it just starts to turn tender, about 6 minutes. Add wood ear and cooked crawfish meat, and simmer for another minute or until crawfish is heated through (do not boil). Take care not to overcook, or the the crawfish will turn rubbery. Season with Cajun seasoning, salt and black pepper. Remove from heat.
- Serve garnished with sliced green onion and torn fresh cilantro leaves.
Notes
- Wood ear mushrooms, also referred to as black fungus, is a thin, translucent mushroom that grows on tree trunks and fallen logs. It is most notable for its slightly chewy/crunchy texture, and is a common ingredient in many Asian dishes (in the US, it is most probably best known as a key ingredient in hot and sour soup served at many Chinese restaurants). It is most commonly sold dried, but can sometimes be found for sale fresh. Look for it in Asian and specialty markets, or with other varieties of dried mushrooms in mainstream supermarkets.
- Crawfish (or crayfish, if you prefer that term – I usually reserve that for speaking about the animal, rather than the food) is very popular in parts of the southern US, but can be an uncommon find elsewhere in the country. Seafood markets are the most reliable source, but it is also sometimes available at Asian markets.
