Celebrating the annual pleasure that is fresh from the farm peak season corn, Corn and Miso Soup is a soul satisfying affair, a deeply flavoured and silken puree that revels in the profound sweetness of summer corn, enhanced by the complimentary flavours of ginger, green onion, and mild white miso.
For me, there is nothing more emblematic of late summer in Ontario than fresh corn. It’s a moment in the season I look forward to every year, when I know that the days will still be warm, the afternoons filled with waning pulse of cicadas, the nights a touch cooler, and the markets bursting with seasonal treats.
As the long awaited harvests start to come in, farmers markets and roadside stands are populated with tables and baskets weighed down with heavy cobs enrobed in their fuzzy green cloaks. A humorously squeaky affair, as the husks are stripped back, gloriously reveals almost bursting plump kernels, in varying hues of white and yellow from cotton to daffodil. Most seasons, the corn is memorably and remarkably sweet, and I always make sure to freeze at least a dozen cups worth of kernels for some summertime vibes when I will need them most mid-winter.
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Ingredients
Simply made from 5 ingredients - corn, green onions, ginger, broth, and miso - Corn and Miso Soup is cooked up quickly in the Instant Pot, but can of course be easily made on the stovetop as well.
Method
Freshly shorn corn kernels are added to a quick saute of green onions and ginger, topped up with corn broth or vegetable stock, and cooked until tender. If you have the time, easy to make homemade corn broth adds additional levels of profound corn flavour, making great use of the cobs which would usually be discarded; however a mild and unsalted vegetable stock can easily be used in its place. When cooking, an optional piece of dried kombu is tucked into the pot, something I use in almost all of my soups, adding minerals, the slightest salty note, and umami flavours.
Once finished, and the kombu removed, fresh miso is added before pureeing, uncooked to preserve some of its natural benefits. Using mild white miso here, also known as Shiro miso, adds the right amount of earthy, salty, savoury flavour to balance the sweetness of the fresh corn. If you prefer a more intense fresh ginger flavour, you can add an additional teaspoon of grated ginger here before blending, but I will usually blend the soup as is first, taste, and then add a touch more fresh ginger for a final blend if I want more zing.
Blitzed up in a high speed blender or equivalent until silky smooth and airy, this soup provides pure corn essence in every lush and satisfying sip, with an incredible liquid souffle-like texture. The right balance of liquid to solids in this recipe, along with the smoothing and thickening power of naturally present corn starches, makes for a finished soup that is sublimely light, silken, and plush, without being watery or thin.
A quick note on blending corn
When blending this soup, you may need to blend a little longer than usual to achieve a silken puree depending on the strength of your blender, as corn can be fibrous even when fresh. Once you blend your soup until smooth, let the blender run again for another 30 seconds at least so that your puree is as silky smooth as your blender makes possible.
The Food Finds
If you use corn kernels from fresh corn you need a corn zipper! From preparing a single meal, to batch prepping a freezerful of summer gold to enjoy later in the year, this tool makes all the difference. Find out more about the useful corn zipper.
Corn Broth is a unique and deeply flavourful homemade ingredient that you can easily make yourself with shorn corn cobs, either in the instant pot, or on the stove top. Find out more about how to make corn broth, and how to freeze it for future use.
Ways to eat Corn and Miso Soup
Corn and Miso Soup is perfect on a late summer’s evening, sipped directly from a small bowl. I love to serve it as a first course before a meal of Essential Baked Tofu Cubes, steamed rice, and Fresh Garden Furikake, accompanied by sliced salad turnips and radishes.
A larger bowl of Corn and Miso Soup is also a heartwarming addition to your fall and winter table, made with frozen corn and a touch of coconut sugar to mimic fresh summer corn’s sweetness as needed, bringing back some of that golden sunshine that may be in short supply.
Corn and Miso Soup
Ingredients
- 2 teaspoon neutral vegetable oil such as sunflower, safflower, or canola
- 2 spring onions finely sliced, a tablespoon or so reserved for garnish
- 3 teaspoon fresh ginger micropaned or finely grated, with more to taste as needed
- 4 cups corn kernels approximately 4-6 corn cobs depending on the size of your corn, fresh or frozen as needed
- 4 cups unsalted corn broth or unsalted mild vegetable stock
- 1 piece dried kombu optional
- 3 tablespoon mild white shiro miso
- cane sugar or coconut sugar to taste, see notes
- Salt to taste
Instructions
- Set your Instant Pot onto the low sauté setting, make sure your stainless steel inner bowl is in place, and add the oil; or if using the stovetop, use a heavy bottomed large pot, such as a dutch oven.
- Once heated, add the sliced spring onions to the pot and saute about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking. Add the finely grated ginger and saute for another minute, stirring frequently to prevent sticking or burning, although some ginger will likely stick a bit.
- Add the corn kernels and saute for a minute or two, making sure you scrape up anything stuck to the bottom of the pot with your spoon.
- Add in the corn broth or vegetable stock, the optional piece of kombu, and turn the saute mode off. Secure the Instant Pot lid and set your instant pot on high pressure for 10 minutes, or if using the stovetop, cook for 30 minutes on medium high, stirring occasionally.
- Important note: Once your Instant Pot has completed its cooking time, DO NOT release the pressure manually (as this will put you at risk of releasing boiling hot liquid out of the pressure release valve). Let the pressure release naturally on its own, making sure the locking pin has released and no more pressure remains inside the pot, before you unlock the lid.
- Remove and discard the kombu - do not put it into the blender. Ladle the contents of your pot into a high speed blender, and add the miso paste. Blend until quite smooth - timing will vary depending on your blender. Once smooth, blend again for at least another 30 seconds until as aerated and smooth as possible.
- A word of caution: theoretically, you are not supposed to blend hot liquids, but I often do - just be extra careful when opening the lid to your blender - if you take the top off too quickly with a hot liquid inside, the liquid can splash up towards you. Taking the lid off quite slowly lessens the chance of this happening, and I guess I like to live on the edge because I do blend the soup while it is still hot. If you prefer not to blend a hot liquid, let the soup sit until cool enough to blend and reheat before serving.
- Taste, and if needed, add an additional half teaspoon up to a full teaspoon of grated ginger if you want to amp up the ginger taste, or additional small amounts of sugar as needed if your corn is not sweet, blending again to fully puree and incorporate these additions. Your soup will likely not need any salt, but add a pinch of salt to taste if needed.
- If your soup is not very hot, or has been made in advance, you can reheat it gently on the stove until warmed just before serving, but do not let the soup come to a boil.
- Ladle into bowls, and sprinkle a few reserved sliced green onions on top. Enjoy!
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