Chicken Corn Soup
چکن کارن سوپ
Chicken corn soup is the winter soup of Pakistan, sold from street carts on cold evenings and made at home whenever someone has a cold. It is thick and glossy, with shreds of chicken, sweet corn and fine ribbons of egg, and everyone seasons their own bowl with chili vinegar and soy sauce. A real made from bone-in chicken gives it far more flavour than stock cubes.
- ⏱ Total: 1 hr 5 min
- Prep: 15 min
- Cook: 50 min
- Easy
- Serves 6
Method
Tap a step when it is done.
Put the chicken, water, , peppercorns and 1 tsp salt in a . Bring to a boil on high heat and skim off the grey foam that rises in the first few minutes.
Lower the heat, cover and simmer for 30–35 minutes, until the chicken is very tender and the tastes rich. You should have about 6 cups of stock.
Lift out the chicken, let it cool a little, then pull the meat off the bones and shred it into thin strands with two forks. Strain the stock and pour it back into the degchi. While it cools, mix the vinegar and chopped green chilies in a small bowl to make the chili vinegar.
Bring the stock back to a boil. Add the shredded chicken, corn, sugar and white pepper, and simmer for 5 minutes. Taste and add the rest of the salt if needed.
Stir the cornflour slurry again, then pour it slowly into the soup while stirring all the time. Simmer for 2–3 minutes until the soup turns thick, glossy and coats the back of a spoon.
Turn the heat to low. Stir the soup slowly in one direction and pour the beaten eggs in a very thin stream from a height. Stop stirring and leave for 30 seconds so the egg sets into fine ribbons, then stir gently once.
Ladle into bowls and serve piping hot, with the chili vinegar, soy sauce and chili sauce on the table for everyone to add to taste.
Kitchen notes
Always mix cornflour into cold water first. Added dry to hot soup, it forms lumps that will not dissolve.
For fine, silky egg ribbons, pour slowly from a height into gently moving soup, and do not stir hard for the first half-minute.
Soy sauce is served on the side rather than cooked in, so the soup stays pale gold and each person can season their own bowl.
Pakistan’s winter soup
Chicken corn soup came to Pakistan by way of the Chinese restaurants of Karachi and Lahore, and then became thoroughly local. Today it is sold from carts with big steaming pots on almost every busy road in winter, served in plastic bowls with bottles of chili vinegar and soy sauce on the counter. At home it is made on cold evenings, for anyone feeling unwell, and as a starter at dinners and weddings. Children love it plain; adults usually turn it sour and hot with plenty of chili vinegar.
Stock, then body, then egg
The soup is built in three stages. First comes a simple yakhni: bone-in chicken simmered with ginger, garlic and peppercorns, which gives the soup its depth. Then the body: corn, shredded chicken and a cornflour slurry, which turns the clear stock into the thick, glossy soup everyone expects. Last come the egg ribbons. The key is to pour the beaten egg in a thin stream into soup that is barely moving, so it sets into fine, silky threads rather than scrambled lumps.
Variations
- Street style: some vendors add a few drops of yellow food colour and a little chicken powder; the homemade version tastes cleaner without them.
- Hot and sour touch: add a tablespoon of vinegar and a teaspoon of chili sauce to the pot just before serving.
- Extra greens: finely chopped spring onion or a few leaves of coriander on top add freshness.
Storing and serving
The soup keeps for 3 days in the fridge and reheats well over low heat with a splash of water. Make the chili vinegar a few hours ahead if you can; the chilies flavour it more as it sits, and it keeps in a jar in the fridge for weeks.
Questions people ask
Can I use plain corn kernels instead of cream-style corn?
Yes. Use about 1.5 cups of frozen or tinned kernels and blend half of them with a little stock into a rough paste. That gives the same creamy body with some whole kernels left.
Why did my soup turn thin after a while?
Cornflour-thickened soups thin out if boiled hard for a long time or stirred with a spoon that has been in your mouth. Reheat gently, or add a teaspoon more cornflour in cold water.
How long does chicken corn soup keep?
Up to 3 days in the fridge. It thickens as it cools; add a splash of water or stock and reheat over low heat, stirring.
Nutrition (estimate, per serving)
- Calories
- 170
- Protein
- 12 g
- Fat
- 6 g
- Carbs
- 17 g
