Chicken Corn Soup

Ingredients

• 500 g bone-in chicken breast or chicken pieces, skin removed
• 1.5 l cold water
• 1 tbsp ginger, sliced into thin coins
• 4 garlic cloves, lightly crushed
• 8 white or black peppercorns
• 1 tsp salt, plus more to taste
• 1½ cups sweet corn kernels, canned (drained) or boiled fresh
• 1 tbsp light soy sauce
• ½ tsp white pepper, freshly ground
• 3 tbsp cornflour
• 100 ml cold water, for the cornflour slurry
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 tbsp white vinegar
• 1 tsp sesame oil, optional
• 2 spring onions, thinly sliced
• 4 tbsp chilli sauce, to serve
• 4 green chillies, thinly sliced, to serve
• 60 ml white vinegar, to soak the sliced green chillies for serving

Instructions

1. Put the chicken, 1.5 litres cold water, ginger, garlic, peppercorns and 1 tsp salt in a pot. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat and skim off the grey foam that rises.
2. Reduce the heat to low, cover with the lid slightly ajar and simmer until the chicken is cooked through (74°C in the thickest part) and the meat pulls away easily from the bone.
3. Lift out the chicken and set it on a plate. Strain the stock through a sieve into a bowl, then return about 1.2 litres to the pot. Discard the ginger, garlic and peppercorns.
4. When the chicken is cool enough to handle, remove the bones and shred the meat very finely with your fingers or two forks. Meanwhile, put the sliced green chillies in a small bowl with 60 ml vinegar and set aside for serving.
5. Blend half a cup of the corn with about 100 ml of stock until nearly smooth. This gives the soup body and a creamy sweetness.
6. Bring the stock to a simmer. Add the whole corn, the blended corn, soy sauce and white pepper. Simmer gently until the corn is tender and the broth tastes sweet.
7. Stir in the shredded chicken. Mix the cornflour with 100 ml cold water until smooth, then pour it in a thin stream while stirring. Simmer until the soup turns glossy and lightly coats the back of a spoon.
8. Lower the heat so the soup barely bubbles. Pour the beaten eggs in a thin stream from a height while stirring slowly in one direction, so they set into soft ribbons. Cook for about a minute.
9. Turn off the heat. Stir in the 1 tbsp vinegar and sesame oil, then taste and adjust salt and white pepper. Ladle into bowls, top with spring onions and serve with the chilli sauce and green chillies in vinegar.

Tips

• Add the cornflour slurry in a thin stream and stir constantly to avoid lumps. Re-stir the slurry just before pouring, as the cornflour settles quickly.
• For the finest egg ribbons, make sure the soup is barely simmering and pour the egg slowly. A rolling boil will break it into small bits.
• White pepper gives a warm taste; add it in small amounts and adjust at the end.
• Do not skip the bones. They give the stock a fuller flavour than boneless chicken and water alone.