Chinese Corn and Chicken Soup
By Sandra WuPublished on June 1, 2021
Time
45 minutes
Yield
Serves 6
Ingredients
Before You Begin
To make cutting the chicken easier, freeze it for 25 minutes. Depending on the size of the ears, you will need five to seven ears of corn to yield 5 cups of kernels. While this soup is best made with fresh, in-season corn, frozen corn kernels can be used instead; use 5 cups of thawed frozen corn kernels. Choose smoky ham, such as Virginia or Black Forest, from the deli.
Instructions
- Combine chicken, 1 tablespoon water, 1 teaspoon cornstarch, soy sauce, and baking soda in bowl. Let stand at room temperature while preparing other ingredients. In liquid measuring cup, beat eggs and 2 teaspoons water with fork until whites and yolks are thoroughly combined and color is pure yellow; set aside. Mix ½ cup chicken broth and remaining 3 tablespoons cornstarch in small bowl until thoroughly combined; set aside.
- Process 2½ cups corn and remaining ½ cup water in blender on low speed until thick puree forms, about 30 seconds. Increase speed to high and continue to process until smooth, about 1 minute longer. Strain puree through fine-mesh strainer set over large saucepan. Using back of ladle or rubber spatula, push puree through strainer, extracting as much liquid as possible. Discard solids.
- Add ham, salt, white pepper, remaining 3½ cups broth, and remaining 2½ cups corn to corn puree. Bring to boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to maintain simmer and add chicken, stirring to break up any clumps. Partially cover and simmer for 5 minutes (broth may look curdled as it comes to simmer). Stir broth-cornstarch mixture to recombine. Add to soup and cook, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until soup has thickened slightly, about 2 minutes.
- Holding fork in your hand and measuring cup with egg mixture in your other hand, slowly pour egg mixture in slow, steady stream through tines of fork in concentric circles over saucepan until ribbons of coagulated egg form, about 1 minute. Season soup with salt and white pepper to taste. Gently ladle soup into bowls, sprinkle with scallion, and serve.
Time
45 minutesYield
Serves 6Ingredients
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Test Kitchen Techniques
Why This Recipe Works
Chinese corn and chicken soup is a classic, quick-to-make dish that was historically made with canned cream-style corn. For a version based on fresh corn, we started by pureeing a portion of the kernels so that the vegetable's vibrant, sweet flavor suffused the chicken broth base with freshness and color. Stirring in a few cups of whole kernels added sweet, juicy bursts and gave the soup a hearty consistency. Per tradition, we bulked up the broth base by stirring in bits of chicken thigh meat (coated in a mixture of soy sauce, cornstarch, water, and baking soda that seasoned and insulated the meat so that it cooked up tender and silky), a small amount of chopped smoky ham, and egg ribbons. White pepper and scallions complemented the sweetness of the fresh corn. To produce evenly delicate egg ribbons, we diluted the beaten eggs with water to thin them out so that the eggs cooked and set quickly in the hot soup, and we poured the eggs through the tines of a fork to slow down the flow rate.
Want more? Read the whole storyBefore You Begin
To make cutting the chicken easier, freeze it for 25 minutes. Depending on the size of the ears, you will need five to seven ears of corn to yield 5 cups of kernels. While this soup is best made with fresh, in-season corn, frozen corn kernels can be used instead; use 5 cups of thawed frozen corn kernels. Choose smoky ham, such as Virginia or Black Forest, from the deli.
Instructions
- Combine chicken, 1 tablespoon water, 1 teaspoon cornstarch, soy sauce, and baking soda in bowl. Let stand at room temperature while preparing other ingredients. In liquid measuring cup, beat eggs and 2 teaspoons water with fork until whites and yolks are thoroughly combined and color is pure yellow; set aside. Mix ½ cup chicken broth and remaining 3 tablespoons cornstarch in small bowl until thoroughly combined; set aside.
- Process 2½ cups corn and remaining ½ cup water in blender on low speed until thick puree forms, about 30 seconds. Increase speed to high and continue to process until smooth, about 1 minute longer. Strain puree through fine-mesh strainer set over large saucepan. Using back of ladle or rubber spatula, push puree through strainer, extracting as much liquid as possible. Discard solids.
- Add ham, salt, white pepper, remaining 3½ cups broth, and remaining 2½ cups corn to corn puree. Bring to boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to maintain simmer and add chicken, stirring to break up any clumps. Partially cover and simmer for 5 minutes (broth may look curdled as it comes to simmer). Stir broth-cornstarch mixture to recombine. Add to soup and cook, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until soup has thickened slightly, about 2 minutes.
- Holding fork in your hand and measuring cup with egg mixture in your other hand, slowly pour egg mixture in slow, steady stream through tines of fork in concentric circles over saucepan until ribbons of coagulated egg form, about 1 minute. Season soup with salt and white pepper to taste. Gently ladle soup into bowls, sprinkle with scallion, and serve.
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