# Crab roe substitutions in She Crab Soup



## thediycook (Mar 8, 2014)

Seeking suggestions for substituting crab roe in She crab soup. I have had it several times while visiting Charleston, SC but am not familiar with the taste as an individual ingredient. Would tobikko commonly used with sushi provide a similar taste. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.


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## brandon odell (Aug 19, 2012)

Not trying to be mean, and I'm not even one who is overly sensitive about tradition, but wouldn't it be fairly dishonest to call something "She Crab Soup", and not have the crab eggs in it?

I'm sure taste-wise, you could use some sort of fish roe, but that's like using imitation crab in a crab cake, sacrilege.


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## kuan (Jun 11, 2001)

You know how we used to make truffle mash potatoes?  Truffle oil and oven dried button mushrooms chopped up.


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## thediycook (Mar 8, 2014)

I agree about authenticity. However, getting crab roe in the winter requires having it shipped from Charleston, SC and the shipping is nearly equal to the purchase price. Getting crab out of season is reduced packaged such as Phillips (not from Maryland but Vietnam), so making She Crab Soup is possible but for getting the roe economically. Just looking for a roe that would offer a similar taste. Come crab season, a pilgrimage to Maryland will be in order. Would appreciate a descriptive comparison between how crab roe compared to other roe's.


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## genemachine (Sep 26, 2012)

thediycook said:


> I agree about authenticity. However, getting crab roe in the winter requires having it shipped from Charleston, SC and the shipping is nearly equal to the purchase price. Getting crab out of season is reduced packaged such as Phillips (not from Maryland but Vietnam), so making She Crab Soup is possible but for getting the roe economically. Just looking for a roe that would offer a similar taste. Come crab season, a pilgrimage to Maryland will be in order. Would appreciate a descriptive comparison between how crab roe compared to other roe's.


Not offering it out of season might be an option /img/vbsmilies/smilies/wink.gif


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## brandon odell (Aug 19, 2012)

Second that. If you can't get crab roe, it's not She Crab soup. I would only serve it when I have it. Trying to fool people, you run the risk of being outed and losing business even during the season when you can get the crab roe.

The second option would be paying to import it and bumping the price during the off-season, realizing you aren't going to sell as much, as should be the way when things are out of season.


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