Snake Soup (蛇羹 (Se gang))
Overview
Snake soup is a thick Cantonese soup that is a winter speciality of Hong Kong. The meat of at least two kinds of snake is simmered with chicken, pork bones, ginger and dried tangerine peel to make a rich broth. The meat is then shredded finely and returned to the pot with strips of chicken, fish maw, wood ear and shiitake mushrooms, and the soup is thickened lightly with starch. It is served with thin strips of lemon leaf, crisp fried crackers and white chrysanthemum petals on top, which add a fresh, slightly sweet note. The snake meat is often said to taste like chicken.
History
Snake soup has been eaten in southern China for centuries and is valued in Chinese tradition as a warming food for autumn and winter. In Hong Kong it is sold in specialist shops called snake kings, many of them in Sham Shui Po and Kowloon City, where the craft was handed down in families. Fewer young people are learning the trade today, and only a few of the old snake shops remain.
Main ingredients
Snake meat, chicken, fish maw, wood ear mushrooms, ginger, dried tangerine peel. The soup is built on thickened chicken and snake broth and is usually served hot. Diet: contains meat; not usually gluten-free.
Explore: Chicken soups · Fish and seafood soups
Recipe
Method
- 12 h
Simmer the snake, chicken, pork bones, ginger and tangerine peel in 3 l water for 2 hours, then strain.
- 2
Shred the snake and chicken meat finely.
- 3
Bring the broth back to the boil and add the meat, fish maw and mushrooms.
- 4
Season and thicken with the cornflour mixture.
- 5
Serve topped with lemon leaf strips, crackers and chrysanthemum petals.
- ✓
Serve. About 4 h from start to bowl.
Sources
Description, history and recipe written by SoupWiki and checked against the sources above. Calories and times are rough estimates.
