Farmers' Market Friday - Cure For What Ails You {Chicken Corn Soup}

I had entirely different plans for this week's post. I made it and photographed it, and then, I came down with a cold. Hit me like a ton of bricks - sore throat, throbbing sinus pressure, just plain sick. So, knowing that chicken soup cures what ails you (there's even research that shows this to be more than an old wives' tale), I set to making a pot of liquid gold. Of course, I couldn't just leave it alone and make the usual, standard variety - not with the abundance of sweet corn in my fridge - therefore, I decided to whip up some Chicken Corn Soup in hopes that it might be a good substitution to my second favorite Chinese restaurant soup. I know I did a Sweet Corn Soup previously, but that one was cream based. As such, I just didn't think it would be as soothing as a broth/stock based soup would be.

The result is a pretty good rendition, and its a good thing everyone liked it because, as usual, I cannot seem to make a small pot of soup to save my life.

Items from the market: 

• sweet corn
• chicken (actually, I had left over chicken carcass parts from deboning chicken breasts and thighs, so I used those pieces parts to make stock. I also used some boneless skinless breast meat for the actual meat part of the soup.)

Chicken Corn Soup

• 4 quarts of chicken stock (either homemade or purchased - your choice, I won't judge)
• 12 ears of sweet corn, shucked, desilked and corn cut from the cob
• 1 bunch green onions, whites and light green parts thinly sliced
• 2-3 boneless skinless chicken breasts
• assorted chicken parts (I used 2 backs and 8 wings as that is what I had on hand)
• 2-3 eggs
• 1 tbsp toasted sesame oil (optional)

1. Make your stock by covering chicken parts (except for boneless breasts) with water in a large soup pot or dutch oven. Simmer over medium hi heat (don't let the chicken boil) for about an hour or so. Remove chicken parts and if available, remove meat from bone. Reserve meat for addition to the soup. If using purchased stock, heat in pot.
2. To hot stock, add all corn kernels and green onion and cook over low simmer for another hour. Add chicken breast meat and poach in hot stock and corn mixture until done throughout (about 20 minutes or so). Remove chicken. When cool enough to handle, shred chicken meat or thinly slice across the grain. 
3. Using an immersion blender, puree the soup so that some of the corn is pureed but some is left intact. Add shredded chicken breast meat and any reserved meat from the carcasses. Add sesame oil, if using.
4. In a small bowl, crack eggs and beat well. While stirring soup with a fork, slowly drizzle egg into the soup mixture to create ribbons of cooked egg. 
5. Serve piping hot and garnish with a bit more fresh green onion if desired.

This soup definitely soothed my throat and the warmth of the dish helped to open up my sinuses. While my soup didn't have all of the ingredients listed in the soup the researchers made, it doesn't matter to me - it was just what doctor-mom ordered!

Happy Cooking!

sld

Disclosure: I was invited by Wolf Ranch Farmer's Market to visit and meet the vendors and was provided Market Money with which to purchase ingredients for use in the Farmers' Market Friday posts.  I was not compensated to write this article and all opinions are my own.

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