CREAMY CRABMEAT AND CREAMED CORN SOUP

Recently we bought several tins of the tasty mollusk, crabmeat and enjoyed it with creamy eggs. Today, I am combining some crabmeat with canned cream corn to make a delectable soup. Over a million tons of crabmeat are eaten annually and we are doing our part. We always have canned cream corn in the pantry for outdoor cookouts and it makes this soup an enthralling, taste-bud satisfying delight.

Crabmeat is very versatile and for soups one can make chowder or a cream soup. I particularly like an oriental recipe I found a few years ago because it is loaded with flavour. If you like crabmeat you will like this creamy Asian soup.

This dish is adapted from Ellen Dong’s recipe in the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association Cookbook, Augusta, Georgia.

Crabmeat-Corn Soup                                        serves 4

Ingredients

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

5 green onions (scallions) chopped finely

1 tablespoon minced gingerroot

2- 6 ounce each cans of crabmeat*

1 teaspoon salt or more to taste

1 tablespoon dry sherry

2 cups of seafood stock or broth. Chicken stock/broth is okay also. **

1- 15 ounce can of creamed corn

1 tablespoon cornstarch dissolved in 2 tablespoons water

1 egg, beaten with 1 teaspoon of oil

White pepper and oriental sesame oil to taste

Method

1. Heat the oil in a saucepan
2. Add the scallions and gingerroot
3. Add the crabmeat, salt and sherry
4. Add the stock and bring to boiling
5. Add the creamed corn and stir thoroughly
6. When the mixture returns to boiling add the cornstarch slurry
7. Turn off the heat
8. Drizzle in  the eggs while stirring
9. Add white pepper and sesame oil to taste and serve

* If your purse allows, add some chunkiness with a little fresh lump crabmeat.

** I have a jar of lobster base in my pantry. One time I had no seafood stock (such as shrimp broth from shells) so I used chicken stock with a teaspoon of the lobster base. It was delightful but chicken stock alone is fine.

We are very keen on this soup for its preparation simplicity. It is intriguingly delicious in flavour and has an alluring aroma.  Please don’t serve this sumptuous soup to too many diners at once because all the Mmmm-ing around the table may be a distraction.