Chinese · Authentic-ish Chinese
Sweetcorn Soup
281 kcal a serving, against 263 for the traditional version. That is -18 kcal off, or -7%, with 24.9g of protein. Serves 6. 30 minutes.
What the traditional version is
A highly sweetened, glossy soup built on sweetcorn and chicken stock. It relies on a heavy dose of cornflour for that famous gloopy texture. Flavoured with a large pour of sesame oil and white sugar, featuring a tiny token amount of fatty chicken thigh.
What changed, and what each change costs
150g of chicken thigh for 400g of chicken breast
Restaurant versions use scraps of dark meat purely for flavour. I drop a massive amount of lean white meat in to build a dish that can actually function as your dinner.
What it costs you. Chicken breast lacks the rich flavour of fatty thigh meat. You have to chew a lot more, and the soup feels much heavier to eat.
20g of sesame oil down to 5g
Sesame oil is brilliant but it is pure liquid fat. Just 5g is enough to smell that roasted nuttiness without drinking it.
What it costs you. You lose that slick, oily mouthfeel that coats your lips when you eat the takeaway version. The broth is noticeably thinner on the tongue.
15g of sugar for absolutely nothing
Sweetcorn is packed with natural sweetness. You do not need to dump refined sugar into a bowl of vegetables and stock.
What it costs you. The soup loses its dessert-like edge. It tastes like a proper savoury dinner now, rather than a liquid pudding.
The numbers
| Per serving | Traditional | Lightened |
|---|---|---|
| Calories | 263 | 281 |
| Protein | 14.8g | 24.9g |
| Fat | 9.3g | 7.6g |
| Saturated fat | 2.1g | 1.9g |
| Carbohydrate | 32.6g | 30.1g |
| Protein per 100 kcal | 5.6g | 8.9g |
Every figure is computed from the recipe's own weighed ingredient list against public food composition databases. The appendix in Authentic-ish Chinese prints the exact database row used for each ingredient, so any number here can be checked.
Allergens. celery, gluten, eggs, soybeans, sesame.
The method is in the book
This soup is a brilliant winter staple. Call it a massive bowl of dense protein that hits like a brick rather than a delicate starter and you'll be about right. The blended sweetcorn brings enough natural sugar to balance the salty stock perfectly. The trade is brutally simple. You give up the silky, oily richness of the original for a hefty, satisfying meal. I think a giant bowl of shredded chicken beats a bowl of sweetened starch every time.
The quantities and the method for this dish are in Authentic-ish Chinese, along with 55 more. Buy the paperback