Japanese-style Sweet Corn Soup is made with sweet corn, and is my third Surinagashi recipe. Unlike Western-style corn soup, Corn Surinagashi does not use milk or cream. The flavour comes from the corn itself and konbu dashi, making it a low-calorie vegetarian soup.
Like Pumpkin Surinagashi, it is a quick and easy soup. Using sweet corn (as opposed to normal corn) makes such a difference to the sweetness of the soup. But even if you don’t use sweet corn, it is still naturally sweet and tasty.
You can make Japanese-style Sweet Corn Soup using frozen corn or canned corn, but nothing beats the flavour of the fresh corn cob, which is enhanced by boiling the cobs when cooking the corn kernels.
The soup keeps for a few days in the fridge and can be frozen up to a month.
What’s in my Japanese-style Sweet Corn Soup (Corn Surinagashi)
You only need 3 ingredients:
- Corn cobs
- Konbu dashi
- Salt
- Chopped parsley for garnish (not in the photo).
I used konbu dashi (the top one in the photo below) instead of regular dashi stock made from bonito flakes. Konbu dashi has a milder flavour, which helps enhance the natural flavour of the corn. However, if you only have regular dashi, you can substitute it for konbu dashi.
You can also use frozen or canned corn to make Corn Surinagashi, although I strongly recommend using fresh corn.
How to Make Japanese-style Sweet Corn Soup (Corn Surinagashi)
See the video – this is a simple recipe, but I made a video for this to show just how easy it is to make.
- Remove the corn kernels from the cobs.
- Put the corn kernels, cobs, and konbu dashi into a pot and bring it to a boil.
- Reduce the heat to simmer and cook for about 8-10 minutes. Remove scum.
- Turn the heat off and let it cool down slightly.
- Remove the cobs, then use a stick blender to blend until smooth.
- Put the soup through a sieve.
- Chill and serve with chopped parsley as garnish.
To remove corn kernels without scattering everywhere, I referred to “How to cut corn off the cob” in RecipeTin Eats Corn Fritter recipe.
I used a stick blender, but you can of course use a stand blender. If using a stand blender, make sure the cooked corn and dashi stock have cooled to lukewarm before blending, as hot liquid may cause the blender to overflow.
I put the blended corn soup through a sieve. This gives the soup a smooth, delicate finish.
It is summer in Sydney so posting a soup recipe might sound crazy, but Corn Surinagashi can be served chilled, cool, at room temperature, or hot. Chilled soup is actually pretty good. Readers in northern hemisphere can of course serve it hot.
Chilled or cool soup can also be served in a shot glass as a canapé or in a small bowl/cup as a starter like the photos below.
Right: In a shot glass as a canapé. Left: In a small glass cup as a starter.
Yumiko
Watch How To Make It
Unlike the Western-style corn soup, Corn Surinagashi does not use milk or cream. The flavour comes from the corn itself and dashi stock. It can be served chilled, cool, at room temperature, or hot.
This is a vegetarian dish. See the video.
Don't forget to see the section 'MEAL IDEAS' below the recipe card! It gives you a list of dishes that I have already posted and this recipe that can make up a complete meal. I hope it is of help to you.
- 2 sweet corn cobs (husk and silk removed, note 1)
- 500ml / 1.1pt konbu dashi (note 2)
- ¼ tsp salt (note 3)
- Finely chopped parsley (note 4)
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Remove the corn kernels from the corn cobs (note 5). You will need about 1⅔ cups of sweet corn kernels.
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Put the corn kernels, cobs, and konbu dashi into a pot. Bring to a boil.
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Reduce the heat to medium low to gently bubble. Cook for 8-10 minutes, then turn the heat off. While the corn is cooking, foamy scum may rise to the surface - remove as much of it as possible.
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Let the soup cool slightly, then remove and discard the cobs.
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Using a stick blender, purée the corn in the pot until the soup becomes smooth. Alternatively, use a stand blender, in batches if required (note 6).
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Strain the soup through a fine sieve. Use a spatula to press as much of the corn purée through the sieve as possible. Discard any hard corn bits and skins left in the sieve (note 7).
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Add salt and taste. Add a little more salt, if required.
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Chill the soup in the fridge (note 8) and serve in a bowl with garnish in the middle if using (note 9).
1. I bought a pack of sweet corn at the supermarket, which came with the top and bottom trimmed. 2 corn on the cob weighed about 450g / 1lb.
You can use frozen corn kernels or canned corn kernels if you can’t get fresh corn. The flavour of the corn cannot beat the freshly made Corn Surinagashi, but it still comes out good.
2. I used granular konbu dashi powder, but you can of course make konbu dashi from scratch (refer to Varieties of Dashi Stock). If you are not vegetarian, you can also use normal dashi stock from bonito flakes, but I think that the soup tastes cleaner when you use konbu dashi.
If you are using canned corn kernels, reduce dashi stock to 300ml as you don’t need to cook the corn kernels.
3. The granular konbu dashi powder that I used contained salt, so I only needed ¼ tsp salt to season the soup. If you are making konbu dashi from kelp, you may need slightly more salt.
4. A small sprig of curly parsley or thinly sliced blanched okra pieces can also work as you can see in the photo of canape and startar in the post.
5. Refer to “How to cut corn off the cob” in RecipeTin Eats Corn Fritter recipe which shows the way to remove kernels without scattering everywhere.
6. If you are using a stand blender, let it cool down to at least lukewarm temperature, otherwise the soup might explode.
7. The consistency of the soup is similar to, or slightly thinner than, corn cream soup. It will depend how much liquid evaporates while cooking the corn in step 3.
If the soup is too thick for your liking, add a little water or dashi. If it is too thin, you can heat the soup gently to reduce and thicken it.
8. You can serve it chilled, cool, at room temperature, or hot. It is quite versatile.
9. You can also serve it in a shot glass as a canapé or in a small bowl/cup as a starter.
10. Nutrition per serving.
serving: 375g calories: 131kcal fat: 1g (2%) saturated fat: 0.1g (1%) trans fat: 0g polyunsaturated fat: 0g monounsaturated fat: 0g cholesterol: 0mg (0%) sodium: 469mg (19%) carbohydrates: 31g (9%) dietary fibre: 4g (16%) sugar: 5.0g protein: 4.3g vitamin a: 0mcg (0%) calcium: 21mg (1%) iron: 0.9mg (5%) potassium: 714 mg (20%)
Meal Ideas
A typical Japanese meal consists of a main dish, a couple of side dishes, a soup and rice. I try to come up with a combination of dishes with a variety of flavours, colours, textures and make-ahead dishes.
Even if Corn Surinagashi uses a Japanese dashi stock, it can go very well with Western-style dishes. For today’s Meal Idea, I decided to make a set of breakfast dishes with sandwiches as Main.
Other than the sandwich and the soup, you just need a small salad I think.
- Main: Cafe-style Japanese Sandwiches – or Katsu Sando (Pork Cutlet Sandwich) if you need a substantial meal to start the day.
- Soup: Japanese-style Sweet Corn Soup (Corn Surinagashi) – today’s recipe. You can make ahead.
- Salad: Summer Vegetable Salad in Jelly – or fresh leaf salad of your choice.
So easy once you have some readily available sweet corn and the kombu dashi – the colour really promises taste and methinks I would love this coolish-cold . . . thanks for the idea!
Thank you, Eha. Cold Corn Surinagashi is quite refleshing.