Chicken and Sweet Corn Soup

I'm definitely more of a spring/summer person. I have a feeling it may have something to do with me being born in the middle of summer. I can't stand the cold weather, with it's grey clouds and rain and wind. I find it so much easier to cool down in summer than I do to warm up in winter. I think it would almost be worth the coldness if it were to snow here every now and then. But it doesn't. What I do love about winter though is all the comfort food you get to eat. The hot steamy bowls of soup with crusty bread, warm casseroles straight out of the oven and snuggling up on the couch under a blanket, with my heat pack, a coffee and a good book. This soup, which I first tried a few years ago and that I found in an old Chinese cookbook of my Mums is perfect for this time of year. If you make your own stock, it can be a little time consuming, but it's worth the wait and very easy to make.

Ingredients:

1kg chicken

2 litres water

2.5cm piece green ginger/1 tsp minced ginger

1 onion, peeled and quartered

4 peppercorns

3 tsp parsley

1 tsp salt

470g can creamed corn

salt, pepper

2 chicken stock cubes

1 tsp sesame oil

4 tbsp cornflour

4 tbsp water

2 egg whites

2 tbsp water, extra

2 slices ham

1/2 tsp ginger, extra

Method:

1. Put chicken, or chicken pieces into a large saucepan, add water, peppercorns, ginger, onion, parsley and salt. Bring to a boil over medium heat, then reduce heat and simmer gently, covered, for one and a half hours.

2. Remove stock from the heat. Strain stock into a bowl and put both it, and the chicken aside.

3. Combine, in a large saucepan, the reserved chicken stock, creamed corn, crumbled stock cubes, extra ginger, salt, pepper and sesame oil and bring to a boil. In a small bowl mix cornflour to a smooth paste with the 4tbsp of water, then add to the soup. Stir until the soup boils and thickens, reduce heat and simmer for one minute.

4. Beat egg whites and extra water lightly in a small bowl, add to the soup in a thin stream, stirring well as you pour.

5. Remove meat from chicken or chicken pieces, shred finely. Add thinly sliced ham and chicken meat to the soup, heat gently.

Recipe Source:

AWW Chinese Cooking Class cookbook.