17 Jul Olivia Andrews’ Corn and Chicken Soup
Chicken and corn soup (and crabmeat and corn soup) from the local Chinese restaurant was a childhood staple in our household and is filled with fond memories for me. This popular crowd-pleaser also provides the perfect opportunity to sneak in other hidden treasures and bump up that veg count.
If you’re short of time, instead of poaching the chicken in the stock, you can divide a shredded barbecued chicken breast among individual bowls — or, to make the soup a little special, use some picked crabmeat, which you can buy in small tubs from fishmongers and selected supermarkets.
Corn and chicken soup (Serves 4)
Ingredients:
2 teaspoons sesame oil, plus extra for drizzling
4 spring onions (scallions), quartered lengthways, then thinly sliced
8 cups (2 litres) Chicken stock (page 220)
115 g (4 oz) punnet of fresh baby corn (see tips), coarsely chopped, or a 425 g (15 oz) tin baby corn, drained and chopped (see tips)
1 chicken breast, weighing 180–250 g (6–9 oz)
1 tablespoon cornflour
3 tablespoons light soy sauce
1 tablespoon finely grated fresh ginger
½ quantity (1½ cups) Creamed corn (page 213)
1 large corn cob, kernels removed, or 1⅓ cups (200 g) frozen corn kernels
2 eggs, lightly beaten
225 g (8 oz) tin bamboo strips, drained (see tips)
Method:
Heat the sesame oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Cook the spring onion for 2 minutes, or until softened. Pour in the stock. If using fresh baby corn, add it now and bring the stock to a simmer.
Add the whole chicken breast, then reduce the heat to low and cover with a lid. Set a timer to 12 minutes for a 180 g (9 oz) breast, or 15 mins for a 250 g (9 oz) breast. (If the stock starts to simmer, remove the lid to let some heat escape — you don’t want the stock to simmer, or you’ll overcook the chicken.)
Remove the poached chicken from the broth and set aside to rest. When cool enough to handle, shred the chicken and set aside.
In a bowl, mix the cornflour with a little of the broth to make a smooth slurry.
Add the soy sauce, ginger, creamed corn and corn kernels to the soup. (If using tinned baby corn, add it now.) Slowly stir in the cornflour slurry until combined. Slowly pour in the beaten eggs, waiting until they’re completely poured in, then very gently stir.
Return the chicken to the pan with the bamboo shoots and warm for 1 minute. Season to taste with sea salt.
Serve the soup immediately, drizzled with a little more sesame oil, and sprinkled with the spring onion, coriander and white pepper, if using.
To serve:
spring onions (scallions), thinly sliced on an angle
coriander (cilantro) sprigs
freshly ground white pepper (see tips)
2½ SERVES VEG per serve
Top Tips:
To make the soup vegan and dairy free, use Mushroom stock
as the soup base, omit the chicken or crabmeat, and use olive oil instead of butter when making the creamed corn.
For a gluten-free soup, use gluten-free soy sauce.
After draining tinned corn or tinned bamboo shoots, I steep them in boiling water for 5 minutes to remove the overpowering brine flavour.
I keep white peppercorns in my grinder — I absolutely love them! Freshly ground white pepper is fabulous with this soup, so do give it a go.
VEGAN-ABLE • DAIRY FREEABLE • GLUTEN FREEABLE
HEALTHY FATS • HIGH IN PROTEIN• LOW CARB
Almost:
- 1 serve protein per serve
- 100% RDI vitamin B3 per serve
- Chicken stock is a good source of vitamin B12
Make Ahead: Make a double batch, up until the point of adding the eggs, and store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days, or freeze for up to 3 months. To serve, gently reheat, then resume the recipe.
Olivia Andrews is the culinary director for the meal kit delivery service Marley Spoon in Australia and is an ambassador for Nutritician Australia’s Tryfor5 campaign, She is the author of internationally best-selling books Whole Food Slow Cooked and Healthy Thermo Cooking For Busy families.
Look for Three Veg and Meat by Olivia Andrews Published by Murdoch Books (RRP 39.99)
