Korean Chicken and Corn Soup
You have all heard of Jewish penicillin, this is the Korean version.
My dear friend Danniel Ahn taught me to make this restorative and very tasty broth a few years ago. It was very good back then after partying, helping to fortify our vacant minds, fragile bodies and depleted souls. Of course I am older and wiser these days (so too is Danniel) and I prefer have this soup when I am of poor health, rather than when suffering from self inflicated fatigue, Lindsay Lohan style.
The following recipe is just a guideline. I did not really bother to measure anything because honestly, I am not feeling well. I have used a lot of garlic and ginger because of their health restoring properties. If you are making this purely for culinary reasons, then you probably will not want as much, so adjust accordingly. But I need as much fortification as I can get right now…
Ingredients
1 whole organic chicken
1 large onion, unpeeled and halved
1 large carrot, unpeeled and cut into chunks
1 large piece of ginger, sliced
1 whole head of garlic, unpeeled and sliced in half horizontally
1 tbsp of black peppercorns (optional)
The stalks from a bunch of coriander (optional)
Stock powder
Fish sauce, to taste
Cornflour, to thicken
400g can creamy corn
400g can corn kernels, drained and rinsed
3 eggs, free range
Sliced spring onion (optional)
Asian herbs (optional)
Sesame oil (optional)
Method
Wash the chicken to remove any surface impurities.
Place into a large stockpot with the onion, carrot, ginger, garlic, peppercorns and coriander stalks. Cover with water and bring to a simmer slowly. Do not boil.
Cook until the chicken is tender. Remove the chicken to a plate and be careful to not burn yourself removing the chicken from the pot, like I did.
Allow the chicken to cool a bit, then remove all the meat from the carcass. Reserve the meat.
Throw the bones and skin back into the stock and continue to simmer.
This entire process will take about 3 hours, or until you have a well flavoured stock. Strain, and discard all the veggies and bones.
Now, add the two types of corn to the stock, some stock powder to boost the chicken flavour, and plenty of fish sauce to season. Use the fish sauce in place of salt. I used about 150ml, which is nothing compared to the amount Danniel used. He would use the whole bottle!
Thicken with some cornflour, by mixing an amount of cornflour in a small bowl with a bit of stock and then pouring it back into the saucepan and bringing to a simmer.
Cook for about 15-20 minutes to remove the raw flavour of the fish sauce.
Add the shredded chicken meat and heat through.
Beat the eggs lightly in a small bowl.
Turn of the heat and stirring the pot slowly, drop in the egg, so it forms long threads on contact with the hot soup.
Serve in deep bowls, sprinkled with some sesame oil, spring onions and herbs if you wish. Makes approximately 6 large servings.
Ingredients
1 whole organic chicken
1 large onion, unpeeled and halved
1 large carrot, unpeeled and cut into chunks
1 large piece of ginger, sliced
1 whole head of garlic, unpeeled and sliced in half horizontally
1 tbsp of black peppercorns (optional)
The stalks from a bunch of coriander (optional)
Stock powder
Fish sauce, to taste
Cornflour, to thicken
400g can creamy corn
400g can corn kernels, drained and rinsed
3 eggs, free range
Sliced spring onion (optional)
Asian herbs (optional)
Sesame oil (optional)
Method
Wash the chicken to remove any surface impurities.
Place into a large stockpot with the onion, carrot, ginger, garlic, peppercorns and coriander stalks. Cover with water and bring to a simmer slowly. Do not boil.
Cook until the chicken is tender. Remove the chicken to a plate and be careful to not burn yourself removing the chicken from the pot, like I did.
Allow the chicken to cool a bit, then remove all the meat from the carcass. Reserve the meat.
Throw the bones and skin back into the stock and continue to simmer.
This entire process will take about 3 hours, or until you have a well flavoured stock. Strain, and discard all the veggies and bones.
Now, add the two types of corn to the stock, some stock powder to boost the chicken flavour, and plenty of fish sauce to season. Use the fish sauce in place of salt. I used about 150ml, which is nothing compared to the amount Danniel used. He would use the whole bottle!
Thicken with some cornflour, by mixing an amount of cornflour in a small bowl with a bit of stock and then pouring it back into the saucepan and bringing to a simmer.
Cook for about 15-20 minutes to remove the raw flavour of the fish sauce.
Add the shredded chicken meat and heat through.
Beat the eggs lightly in a small bowl.
Turn of the heat and stirring the pot slowly, drop in the egg, so it forms long threads on contact with the hot soup.
Serve in deep bowls, sprinkled with some sesame oil, spring onions and herbs if you wish. Makes approximately 6 large servings.
