Winter favourite: homemade chicken corn soup

A cold winter evening and no bowl of hot soup on the table — that hardly ever happens in a Pakistani home. Chicken corn soup is the winter favourite in households across the country: light, nourishing and very easy to make. Children drink it happily, and adults feel warmed through after a single bowl.

Ingredients
500g bone-in chicken, 6 to 7 cups of water, 1 cup sweet corn kernels, 2 tablespoons cornflour, 1 egg, 1 tablespoon soy sauce, 1 tablespoon vinegar, salt to taste, half a teaspoon of white or black pepper, 1 teaspoon ginger-garlic paste, and spring onion and green chilli for garnish.

Method
First boil the chicken in the water with salt and the ginger-garlic paste for about twenty minutes, then lift it out, discard the bones and shred the meat into fine strands. Add the corn kernels and the shredded chicken to the stock and cook for ten minutes. Mix the cornflour into half a cup of cold water, then stir it slowly into the soup, keeping the spoon moving so the soup thickens evenly. Lower the heat and pour in the beaten egg in a thin stream while stirring — fine threads of egg will form, which are the signature of this soup. Finish with the soy sauce, vinegar and pepper and cook for two more minutes.

Serving
Ladle the soup into bowls while it is still steaming hot and sprinkle chopped spring onion and green chilli over the top. If you like, keep extra soy sauce and vinegar on the side so everyone can season their own bowl. It works beautifully with evening tea, and just as well as a light supper on its own.