Chicken & Sweet Corn Soup

Name: Chicken & Sweet Corn Soup
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Chinese
Ingredients: 2 cobs corn; 2 litres chicken stock; ⅓ cup Shaoxing rice wine; 2 teaspoons finely grated ginger; 500g chicken thigh fillets, thinly sliced; 200g dried egg noodles; 4 green onions, finely sliced; 2 teaspoons sesame oil; 2 tablespoons arrowroot, made into a paste with 2 tablespoons water; 2 eggs, lightly beaten; Salt flakes and freshly ground white pepper, to taste

This is my version of the classic Cantonese chicken and sweet corn soup found on every suburban Chinese restaurant menu. I add egg noodles to create a simple one pot dish, but you could leave them out to make a starter for 8 people (learn how to hand-stretch Chinese noodles in the video below). If you don’t have chicken stock in the freezer, you could poach a whole bird to make the stock and shred all the meat for the soup. See Saw Wines Incubator SAMM is a great wine match; this sauv blanc/marsanne blend was the winery’s first foray into skin contact wines. Made from organic fruit, wild fermented and carbonically macerated with lots of lees stirring, it has great mouthfeel and body while still being light enough for the soup’s delicate flavours.

Serves 4 as a starter

Ingredients

2 cobs corn
2 litres chicken stock
⅓ cup Shaoxing rice wine
2 teaspoons finely grated ginger
500g chicken thigh fillets, thinly sliced
200g dried egg noodles
4 green onions, finely sliced
2 teaspoons sesame oil
2 tablespoons arrowroot, made into a paste with 2 tablespoons water
2 eggs, lightly beaten
Salt flakes and freshly ground white pepper, to taste

Method

Slice the corn kernels off the cobs and chop roughly.
Place corn kernels in a saucepan with chicken stock, Shaoxing and ginger.
Bring to the boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer for 5 minutes.
Add chicken and noodles, return to the boil, reduce heat and simmer for a further 4 minutes.
Add green onion, sesame oil and arrowroot paste, increase heat and stir until soup boils and thickens slightly.
Reduce heat and drizzle in egg, stirring slowly so that it forms thin ribbons through the soup.
Remove from heat, taste, add salt and pepper and serve.