Grilled chicken and corn soup

Thanks to getting sick, I’ve lost a little weight (silver lining!) and it’s given me encouragement and strengthened my resolve to keep up the fight against the bulge!

Last night I had clear beef and noodle soup, and salad for dinner. I skipped the chicken curry which we prepared so as not to starve our dinner guests. I was guilty of indulging in some of the freshly baked banana bread. (How could I not?!) But I felt good knowing I sacrificed the main course for it. (Under normal circumstances I would have had soup, salad, main course AND dessert!) YEY to mini victories!

Today we had light breakfast of a small piece of left-over banana bread with Carribean Nut coffee. Compare this to my normal favorite “-silog” breakfasts of  tapa/tocino/hotdog/corned beef/vienna sausage, sinangag (garlic fried rice) and itlog (fried/scrambled egg) – it was a victory indeed!

*Note: “-silog” breakfast are very popular in the Philippines. Examples:

• TAPSILOG = TAPa (fried cured beef slices) + SInangag + itLOG
• TOSILOG = TOcino (sweetened cured pork) + SInangag + itLOG
• LONGSILOG = LONGganisa + SInangag + itLOG

For lunch, I prepared corn soup and toasted some focaccia bread. I didn’t end up eating the bread because, as TD (TheDiplomat) correctly pointed out, it didn’t compliment the soup well. The soup was so filling, I was quite full after one bowl! It was a hit with TD – he came back for seconds. Here’s the super simple recipe. Adapted from the Periplus mini cookbook, Fast Chicken.

Grilled Chicken and Corn soup

• Serves 2-3
• Ready to eat in 30 mins
• Approximately 250 calories per ser

Ingredients:

• 3 cups chicken stock I placed chicken bouillon granules
• 380 g creamed corn
• 1 tbsp finely chopped onions
• 1/2 – 1 tsp grated fresh ginger Adjust to your taste, I don’t like ginger so I used only 1/2 tsp
• 1 tsp cornflour
• 1 egg white
• 1/2 tsp soy sauce  (to your taste)
• 1 cup sliced grilled chicken
• 1/3 cup short pasta I used a mixture of left over macaroni and shell pasta

1. Spray olive oil to coat the bottom of a non-stick pot and sautee the onion and ginger briefly
2. Add the chicken stock, creamed corn and slowly bring to a boil for 2 minutes, then add the pasta.
3. Add corn-flour to 1 tbsp water in a small bowl and mix to a smooth paste. Gradually add to the soup, stirring until the soup boils and thickens.
4. Lower the fire to simmer for 2 mins.
5. Whisk egg white and 1 tbsp water in a small bowl and slowly add to the soup in a thin stream, stirring continuously to combine. Do not allow the mixture to boil.
6. Add the soy sauce and sliced grilled chicken. Stir to combine and simmer for 2-3 minutes or until the chicken is heated through and the pasta is cooked.
7. Optional: Garnish with chopped cilantro. Use Parsley if you don’t have any.

The thing that gives a little oomph to this recipe is the grilled chicken. Usually this simple comfort food is done with boiled chicken. However the grilled chicken makes it so much tastier!

READ: SIMPLE GRILLED CHICKEN RECIPE

P.S.

I can’t seem to find my card reader, so I wasn’t able to post the pic. Will post a pic of the soup, as soon as I find it! =P