When growing up in San Francisco there was not a more festive holiday than Chinese New Year. The sidewalks of Market Street would be lined with thousands of people on a usual cold, damp and foggy evening in February to watch the colorful and loud parade. And then there was the star of the parade. The flowing dragon who was both lead and followed by dancers tossing firecrackers to ward off any evil spells. Now, as an adult and away from San Francisco, I still like to celebrate Chinese New Year with the difference being, I do it with food!
It's winter and it just seems natural to want soup and thankfully there is a great Chinese New Year version. Everyone knows that chicken soup is popular this time of year and of course being winter chowders are extremely yummy and can warm you quite nice after a day of shivering and teeth clattering. So, what happens if you mix the two? Well, you get absolute yumminess!
Ingredients needed to make Chinese Sweet Corn and Chicken Soup (serves 4):
- 3 cups corn kernals, sweet variety
- 1 chicken breast, skinned and boned
- 4 cups chicken stock
- ¼ cup cornstarch
- ¼ cup cold water
- 1 ½ tsp. salt
- 1 Tbs. soy sauce
Steps:
- Into a food processor or blender add the corn and coarsely grind (not pureed but a little chunky)
- In a small sauté pan or skillet of boiling water add the chicken breast, cover and cook 10 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat to cool.
- Remove the chicken from the pan and dice the meat. Discard the cooking water.
- In a medium saucepan combine the corn, chicken and chicken stock over high heat. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook 5 minutes.
- In a small bowl whisk together the cornstarch and water until the cornstarch is dissolved. Whisk this into the soup and continue to whisk until the soup loses its cloudy/creamy color.
- Stir in the salt and soy sauce and serve.
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