Yet Another Chicken Sweet Corn Soup

I know!! I know!! Nobody wants to another Chicken Sweet Corn recipe! This is one soup majority of Indians, especially a Bengali can whip up even in their sleep. This soup is synonymous to sore throat, common cold, flu, tonsillitis and when you miss your Mamma in a foreign land. One sip and you are embraced in her warm hug, kissing your forehead and whispering "its gonna be okay".

I can have this soup 365 days a year and will be still begging for more... Fine! its a little exagerration but I just had to drive the point how much I am in love with the THIS SOUP! Interestingly, Lil Sid has developed a strong liking for this soup too. He calls it his "Feel Better" soup, since I invariably make it when someone in the family is not feeling too well.

Chicken stock, shredded chicken, corn kernels, eggs (whites), cornflour and of course some salt and pepper and you are done... And how easy was that!!! Well here is a pictorial representation:

I make my own stock for this soup. 2 pcs of chicken thigh (skinless and bone in. approx half a pound), 6 cups of water, 2 sprigs of green onions (scallions), 2 bruised cloves of garlic, 2 thick pieces of ginger and few peppercorns and a little salt. Boil and then simmer everything for 20-30 mins. Remove the chicken pieces and drain the stock.

Take the poached chicken and shred into bite sized pieces.

To the strained stock, add the corn kernels and the shredded chicken and cook till the corn kernels are soft. I used fresh corn, but frozen corn kernels are just as fine. Also add salt to taste.

In a separate bowl, I whisk up two egg whites and added to the simmering soup, stirring continuously. A beautiful "egg-drop" effect is created.

Of late I love thin, watery soup, but Mom always made the Chicken Sweet Corn Soup thick by adding little corn flour. Since you don't challenge perfection, I follow the suit. I mixed 4 heaped teaspoon of cornstarch (cornflour) to one-fourth cup of cold water and added to the soup. It thickens up instantly. Take off the flame and server piping hot with tonnes of  "chilies-in-vinegar" and soy sauce.

This thick and luscious soup promises to sooth my tired and aching body and soul.

A word of caution: Do not add to much of corn flour. Start with 2 tsp and gradually keep increasing till you reach the desired consistency. I once had a soup which was more like Chicken Sweet Corn Jello!

We had our Chicken Sweet Corn soup with a spicy stir-fried Chicken Chowmein (noodles) and lots of "chili-in-vinegar". Chili-in-vinegar is a very common condiment served in Chinese restaurants across India. Its sad that Chinese restaurants in the US do not serve them. Making it at home is simple enough and I make it every time I cook Chinese styled noodles or soup. In a glass or non-reactive bowl add half a cup of white vinegar. Slice 15-20 potent green chilies (I prefer the Thai ones here) and add to the vinegar. Let it sit for 15 min before serving. Adds a spicy zing to your soups and noodles!