Soup is not the most photogenic of subjects. Especially this one that I made for the family on Christmas Eve. It is a white asparagus and crab soup, its very beige. However, the flavours are anything but beige. This is a dish that my mother in law makes for special occasions like birthdays or holidays. And coincidentally, it was what she made in Toronto on Christmas Eve. We did not plan this and only found out on Christmas day that we shared the same meal, abeit 3,000 miles apart. So although we did not celebrate together, we bonded through our meal. Happy Holidays, everyone!

This recipe serves four as a meal or eight as an appetizer.

1 whole chicken breast
1.5 liter water
2 bay leaves
2 slices ginger
1 liter chicken stock
3 tbsp cornstarch dissolved with 3-4 tbsp cold water
2 cans white asparagus, drained
1 can crab meat, drained
2 eggs
salt and pepper to taste

1. Bring 1.5 liter of water to a boil in a large pot or dutch oven.

2. Place, chicken breast, bay leaves and ginger into the pot. When the water comes back to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer the chicken breast for 25 minutes.

3. Remove chicken breast, set aside to cool. Once cooled, using your hands shred the breast into slivers of meat.

4. Meanwhile, pour the liter of chicken stock into the pot with the water that boiled the chicken. Bring this to a boil.

5. Once the stock has come up to a boil, add the asparagus and the chicken shreds. Add salt to taste.

6. When the soup has come back up to a boil, reduce heat and add the cornstarch slurry. Slowly stirring the pot to ensure you do not get any lumps. You want the soup to thicken so that it will coat a spoon and cling.

7. In a medium size bowl, beat the eggs with the crab meat. Turn off the heat and slowly pour in the egg and crab mixture. Again, slowly stirring the soup to distribute the egg and crab. The heat in the soup will cook the eggs and you will end up with lovely streaks of orange and white from the crab and egg.

8. Ladle into bowls and sprinkle with chopped onions or cilantro and a fresh grind of black pepper.