A comforting soup with shiitake and freshly ground white pepper
Sweetcorn, finely chopped chicken and shiitake make a comforting soup with soft egg ribbons and a gentle white-pepper warmth. Lightly thickened rather than heavy, it works as a starter or a light lunch with toast.
Times are approximate and include the stated soaking, preliminary cooking and waiting. Allow longer when needed, checking the hydration and doneness described.
Recipe illustrations; measure ingredients using the written quantities.
Rinse the shiitake and cover with plenty of warm water for about 15–30 minutes. If the centres remain firm, change to cold water and continue soaking in the fridge until soft. Discard the soaking water, rinse and trim tough stems. Cover with fresh water in a separate pan, bring to the boil and simmer for 40–60 minutes, topping up as needed, until a small knife enters the thickest flesh easily. Cook for another 10–15 minutes and check again if needed. Drain, cool just enough to handle and finely dice.
Finely chop the chicken on a separate board, mix with the soy sauce and return to the fridge. Clean hands, tools and surfaces afterwards. Roughly chop about half the corn, leaving the rest whole. Frozen corn can go straight into the pan and must be cooked according to its pack. Grind the peppercorns finely with a mortar or mill. Mix the cornflour with 40 ml cold water.
Put the stock, chopped and whole corn, and cooked shiitake in a saucepan. Bring to the boil and simmer for about 8–10 minutes, or long enough to meet the frozen corn’s pack instructions. Stir occasionally so chopped corn does not stick. Add a little hot water if the liquid reduces too much.
Scatter the chicken into the simmering soup and separate any clumps with a spoon. Simmer for about 3–5 minutes or longer until fully cooked; check the centre of a larger clump reaches 75°C for 30 seconds with a clean probe. Stir the slurry again and pour it in gradually while stirring the soup, starting with about two-thirds. Simmer for 1–2 minutes until smooth and lightly coating a spoon, adding the rest only if needed.
Keep the soup at a gentle simmer. Stir slowly in a circle as you drizzle in the beaten egg, let ribbons form briefly, then stir gently. Cook for about 1–2 minutes until the egg is fully set and the soup is hot throughout. Add the sesame oil and freshly ground white pepper, taste before adding salt, and serve hot with a little spring onion.
Contains egg, soya and sesame; soy sauce usually contains wheat. Check stock labels for celery and other allergens. The Xianyitang dried-ingredient packs state that they are packed in a facility also handling peanuts, tree nuts, sesame and soya. Check the actual labels of every brand used.
Follow the chicken’s chilled storage instructions. Cool leftover soup in shallow containers and refrigerate at 5°C or below within 2 hours. Eat within 48 hours or freeze. Reheat once until the chicken and soup are steaming hot throughout, stirring in a little water if it has thickened.
