Crab and sweetcorn soup
Crab and sweetcorn soup is 鈥渁 world classic鈥 says Rick Stein, and the key to success is to celebrate its simplicity and rely on good, fresh ingredients.
Ingredients
- 1.2 litres/2 pints good-quality or homemade chicken stock
- 6 thin slices fresh root ginger, plus 1 tsp very finely chopped
- 3 bunches spring onions, roughly chopped
- 陆 tsp whole white peppercorns
- 2 fresh corn on the cobs
- 225g/8oz fresh white crabmeat
- 5 tsp cornflour
- 2 spring onions, cut into 2.5cm/1in pieces and finely shredded lengthways
- 1 tbsp light soy sauce
- 1 tbsp Chinese rice wine or dry sherry
- 1 egg white, lightly beaten
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
Method
Put the chicken stock in a saucepan with the sliced ginger, spring onions and peppercorns. Bring to the boil and cook for 20 minutes so the flavours infuse.
Stand the corn on the cobs end-up on a board and slice away the kernels with a large sharp knife. Add the sweetcorn to the stock and simmer for 5 minutes.
Check over the crabmeat for any little pieces of shell, keeping the meat in the largest pieces possible.
Mix the cornflour with a little cold water to form a smooth paste, stir it into the soup and simmer for 2 minutes. Stir in the crabmeat, chopped ginger, shredded spring onions, soy sauce and rice wine. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Simmer for 1 minute.
Give the soup a good stir, remove the spoon and slowly trickle in the beaten egg white so that it forms long, thin strands in the soup. Simmer for about 30 seconds and then serve at once.
