Creamy Sweet Corn Thick Soup With Pork

I learnt this creamy sweet corn soup many years ago, while I was still in university. I then realised it’s quite a common soup made in Hong Kong families. It’s very simple to make, and is sweet and savoury all at once. For those nights when you need to whip something up quickly.

For this recipe, it is important to use the CREAMY sweet corn and not the corn kernels, else you will not get the kind of intended flavours that the soup is meant to impart. For the pork, you can generally use any pork that is not too fat. I told my butcher about what I was using it for, and he went “you want the soft one?” and gave me this piece. You see, you can use the usual lean pork (肉眼) but the texture when you gnaw into it won’t be as nice.

Chinese-Style Spicy Marinated Cucumbers.

I am a big fan of china-styled marinated cucumbers, particularly those in the Liang Ban Cai (凉拌菜) stalls run by the Chinese nationals. I have tried making my own and not been successful, but after some practice, I think I have something I like enough to share.

This recipe calls for a popular off-the-shelf ready-made chilli by the famous brand Lao Gan Ma (老干妈). I have been looking at this chilli for quite a while on my supermarket shelf but never bought it, till my friend raved on Facebook about how good it is. I have seen this being sold in Asia supermarkets as far flung as Helsinki, so it shouldn’t be hard to get. It’s spicy but manageable.

*Update: 17/4/17: My friend sent me this link about Lao Ganma Chilli, which basically states that they did a test and the ingredients are questionable. Eventhough the chilli tastes great, please use with caution, or substitute with something better. You can get a gist of the article if you use google translate, since it’s all in Chinese.