Another Venture into Vietnamese Cooking

I've discovered that the Vietnamese cookbook that my friend Hillary left behind is quite amenable to my diet. Speaking of Vietnamese food, I had an interesting encounter with basil at the Vietnamese restaurant near me (Pho & Spice). I ordered the pho ga, a very good chicken soup (which I will be attempting to make at some point), which I knew had basil served on the side. I thought that as long as I didn't eat it, I'd be ok. To my surprise, the flavor of basil has transferred to the bean sprouts which were in the same bag (I had this to go) and as I ate the bean sprouts, my tongue went numb. I guess I really am allergic to basil. Anyway, here's the crabmeat and asparagus soup I made from the Vietnamese cookbook:


Crabmeat and Asparagus Soup (serves 4)
8 oz asparagus
4c. chicken broth
1 tsp. oil
2 spring onions (white part only)
1 tbsp. fish sauce
1/2 tsp. sugar
1/2 c. cooked crabmeat
2 tbsp. cornstarch, dissolved in 3 tbsp. water
Salt
1 tsp. grains of paradise
1 egg, beaten
2. tbsp. coarsely minced cilantro

1. Cut off bottom third of the asparagus spears. Reserve the top parts for later and cut the bottom third into short lengths.
2. Bring the chicken stock and bottom parts of the asparagus to a boil over high heat, then cover and simmer for 15 minutes. Remove from heat. Strain the stock using a fine sieve and discard asparagus ends.
3. Cut the reserved top parts of the asparagus into short lengths and set aside.
4. Heat the oil in a saucepan over medium heat and stir-fry the green onions for 1-2min until fragrant and golden brown. Add the clear stock, increase heat to high and bring the mixture to a boil, seasoning with the fish sauce and sugar. Add the asparagus and simmer uncovered for about 1 minute, until just cooked, then add the crabmeat and mix well.
5. Reduce the heat to medium, pour in the cornstarch mixture, stirring constantly, until the soup is slightly thickened. Season the soup with salt and grains of paradise.
6. Pour the egg into the soup in a slow stream, stirring gently until it sets. Remove from heat and garnish with cilantro.