Chapter 281: Chapter 186: Super Simple Corn Soup Recipe! Master’s Gift! Wipe Them Out! [Seeking Monthly Ticket]
"Is corn soup difficult to make?"
While Shen Guofu and his wife, along with Lin Hongqi and his wife, were eating and chatting, Shen Baobao squeezed into the kitchen. Seeing the two cobs of fruit corn in Lin Xu’s hands, she asked curiously.
She remembered Aunt Liu used canned corn soup to make golden corn soup at home. It was super simple—just pour it into the pot and heat it up a bit.
But Lin Xu had actually taken out two corn cobs from the fridge.
How do you make it with corn cobs? So puzzling!
Lin Xu said with a smile, "It’s quite simple. You can make this soup with fruit corn, husked corn kernels, or cornmeal, but I wouldn’t recommend you try it."
Well, better give him a heads-up now to avoid her having a whim someday and burning down the kitchen.
His words had barely faded when Shen Jiayue pouted and asked, "Then what do I do if I want to make you heartwarming soup? I see others make soup for their boyfriends, and I want to try too."
As Lin Xu was peeling the corn husks, he said, "You could order takeout, and I’ll pretend you made it."
"Hmm... You spoil me too much. What if you spoil me rotten?"
Better that than a kitchen fire... Lin Xu turned his face and kissed her on the cheek. "Isn’t it right for me to spoil you?"
Shen Baobao: "!!!!!!!!"
Lin Xu actually took the initiative to kiss me? No way, I have to kiss him back. I, Shen Jiayue, am never outdone! How can I accept such an indignity?
Without another word, she wrapped her arms around Lin Xu’s neck and kissed him several times.
Mmhmm... I might not out-cook you, but surely I can out-kiss you?
After Lin Xu finished peeling the two corn cobs, he finally said with a smile, "Alright, alright, be good. I’m going to slice the corn now."
He washed the two corn cobs, then stood them upright, with the top end down. Steadying a cob with his left hand, he picked up a kitchen knife with his right.
He positioned the knife at the base of the corn kernels and sliced downwards. He was careful not to cut into the very root of the kernels, as the translucent membrane there would affect the corn soup’s texture.
After slicing all the way down one side, a cut section appeared on the cob.
Then, he laid the corn cob flat and positioned the knife to slice off the row of kernels next to the cut section.
Again, he was careful not to cut too close to the base of the kernels.
With one slice, an entire row of kernels was cleanly cut away.
After cutting a row, he gently rotated the corn cob and continued slicing the next.
Using canned corn wouldn’t be this troublesome. You could simply strain the corn kernels and proceed directly to the next step.
However, if using canned corn, it’s best to choose whole kernels rather than corn grits or corn paste. Whole kernels preserve the maximum fresh corn flavor. Corn grits and corn paste aren’t quite as good.
While Lin Xu was cutting, Shen Jiayue stood to the side watching like a curious baby. This time, she didn’t cause any trouble, worried that if she did, Lin Xu might cut his hand with the knife.
Once all the corn kernels were sliced off, he finely chopped them with the kitchen knife.
The purpose of this was to release the corn’s juices and sweet flavor into the soup, improving its taste and creating a smoother texture when drunk.
The chopped corn kernels were then placed in a bowl, and some Cheese Powder was added and stirred in evenly.
Cheese Powder is a synthetic flavoring, a blend of leavening agents, stabilizers, food coloring, and starch. It has a creamy flavor and also gives food a beautiful bright yellow color, widely used in dessert making.
The mild, creamy flavor and appealing bright yellow color of corn soup in some restaurants come from the addition of Cheese Powder.
After mixing the Cheese Powder evenly, Lin Xu started to heat water in a pot.
While the water was heating, Lin Xu mixed some cornstarch with cold water to make a slurry.
Although Cheese Powder contains starch and can thicken the soup, using too much can mask the corn’s natural sweetness. Therefore, cornstarch is preferable for thickening.
Cornstarch increases the soup’s viscosity, making its texture smoother to drink.
Once the cornstarch slurry was ready, he cracked two Eggs into a bowl and beat them with chopsticks.
Adding Egg not only improves the presentation but also infuses a fragrant egg flavor into the soup, enriching and diversifying its aroma.
Once the water boiled, Lin Xu poured the chopped corn into the pot.
Then, he added some White Sugar and a pinch of salt.
Salt enhances the corn’s sweetness.
"Isn’t this a sweet soup? Why add salt?"
"Because salt enhances the corn’s sweetness. Typically, when boiling corn, adding some salt to the pot also makes the corn cobs sweeter and more flavorful."
That amazing? Shen Baobao didn’t quite understand. Still, since Lin Xu said so, it had to be right!
After adding the salt and White Sugar, Lin Xu stirred the pot a few times with a spoon to accelerate their dissolving and to ensure the chopped corn spread out evenly.
When the water in the pot boiled again, he lightly skimmed off any surface scum, as this would improve the soup’s final appearance.
Then, he let it simmer for a few minutes to fully draw out the corn’s sweet flavor.
When the fragrance intensified, he added a few washed goji berries to the pot. Then, using a spoon, he stirred in two spoonfuls of the cornstarch slurry, and the soup quickly began to thicken.
After the soup in the pot boiled once more, he turned off the heat.
He then drizzled the beaten Egg mixture into the pot in a circular motion, just like when making Nori Egg Drop Soup.
After pouring, he stirred it with a spoon.
Beautiful egg flowers appeared in the corn soup.