Thai-Inspired Corn Chowder

Bright, creamy, savory, salty, spicy, this soup tastes like summer.

This chowder was one of those “throw together whatever is in the refrigerator” meals and, with a few tweaks in recipe development, became pretty awesome. It became creamier with the addition of potatoes and more aromatic with the addition of ginger. It’s inspired by my favorite Thai coconut chicken soup: tom kha gai. I love the combo of creamy, salty, spicy, tart and herbal you get from both soups. I usually want tom kha gai when I’m sick because it just tastes uplifting. Like, if I can just eat the soup, I will have the energy to be well again. These are both delicious soups for the warmer months because they are so bright and herbal. The lime juice, fish sauce and fresh herbs are absolutely essential in this recipe. And this corn chowder is especially good in late summer when the grocery stores are basically giving away corn. Perfect for a light dinner on a hot day.

This soup relies on one of my favorite kitchen tools: the immersion blender. The immersion blender makes it so super easy to make pureed soups and sauces without making a ton of extra dishes. I also use it to make mayonnaise, chop nuts and mash cauliflower. It’s great for small projects where I can’t be bothered to clean the food processor. Cheaper models sell for about $30 and take up almost no space. I just broke mine after using it on the regular for eight years and have my eye on the Braun version that Cook’s Illustrated recommends. Currently trying to repair my existing immersion blender, but I might sabotage the process so that I can upgrade. I recommend opting for the extra accessories: whisk, chopper and cup. I think these are the only small appliance accessories I actually use.

Purple basil fresh from my neighbor’s garden.

Thai-Inspired Corn Chowder

Serves 3-4

6 ears of corn; kernels cut from the cobs, cobs reserved, you can sub a 12oz bag of frozen corn if you can’t find fresh

8 mini potatoes or 2 medium potatoes; skin on, cut into ¼ inch pieces

1 large yellow onion; cut into ¼ inch pieces

4 cloves of garlic; roughly chopped

1 jalapeño; stem, seeds and ribs removed, cut into ¼ inch pieces

½ inch ginger; peeled if the skin is thick, cut into ¼ inch pieces or grated on a microplane

2 tablespoons bacon fat; can sub olive oil

1 can coconut milk; Chaokoh brand is my favorite

2 limes, juiced

3 tablespoons fish sauce; can sub 2 teaspoons kosher salt 

Purple bail and/or cilantro to garnish; basil leaves plucked from stems and roughly chopped, cilantro leaves and stems cut into the tiniest pieces you can

Shallow pan with lid

Dutch oven or large pot

Cutting Board

Knife

Cooking spoon

Ladle

Can opener

Citrus juicer

Immersion blender

Don’t waste those corn cobs! Use them to make a quick stock while you prep everything else. It will add even more corn flavor to your chowder. In a shallow pan with a lid (or whatever container you can fit the cobs in a single layer), boil the corn cobs with about 4 cups of water, a teaspoon salt and a bay leaf. You may need to break the cobs in half to get them to fit. Don’t worry if the cobs aren’t fully submerged. Put the lid on, bring the water to a boil and lower to a vigorous simmer. If you want to save on some dishes or are using frozen corn, you can totally skip this step.

Heat the dutch oven on medium heat for about two minutes. Add bacon fat. Once it melts add the onions. Cook on medium heat for 5-10 minutes until translucent, stirring every minute or so. If they start to brown, splash in a little water and lower the heat slightly. Add garlic, ginger and jalapeño. Cook 2-3 minutes more, again, not letting anything brown. When the mixture is done cooking, turn the heat off of the corn stock. Remove the corn cobs and bay leaf from the stock and discard. Add potatoes, half of the corn kernels and the corn cob stock to the dutch oven. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook until the potatoes are very tender when pierced with a fork, about 20 minutes. Turn off the heat and use an immersion blender to puree the soup. Add the coconut milk, lime juice, fish sauce and the rest of the corn kernels. Bring to a gentle simmer, stir and turn off heat.

Ladle into bowls and top with basil and/or cilantro. The garnish really makes this dish so be liberal.