big flavors, little kids, no sleep.

Recipes

Corn Potage (Japanese Corn Soup)

Corn Potage (Japanese Corn Soup)
Corn Potage (Japanese Corn Soup)

James and I are fortunate enough to live near Little Osaka in West Los Angeles–honestly, we probably patronize restaurants on this street at least twice a week. It is invaluable to have such a great array of places to eat near us, especially because traffic in LA can be so restrictive! It’s almost to our detriment that we live so close by; at times, it’s hard for me to muster the energy to cook something when I know we can eat delicious food for relatively cheap prices on Sawtelle. Our proximity to Little Osaka has also made me quite content to dine out for a lot of my favorite foods instead of trying to create them at home.

The only time I do try to make some of the dishes I enjoy at home, however, are when I think that the cost of eating out is grossly imbalanced with the effort it takes to make the dish. Corn potage falls into that category quite easily, as the ingredients are easy to obtain and the recipe itself is quite easy to make.

IMG_7048

We first encountered corn potage at Curry House on Sawtelle and instantly became enamored with its sweet, creamy flavor and thick texture. Japanese cuisine has embraced corn and tends to highlight it in peculiar ways–yes, I’m talking about corn on pizza and ice cream–but this particular preparation has been lovingly adapted from French cuisine. The word “potage” is an old French term for thick stew (potted dish, literally); as for how potage mades its way to Japan, well… I came up empty in my cursory research. Musings aside, corn potage has become a very popular Western-style food in Japan–but maintains its French origins in its preparation by building its flavor from a basic roux of butter and flour. Blending the corn into the broth creates the mushy consistency that normally takes hours for traditional potage soups, making for a soup that is hearty but altogether different than corn chowder.

I absolutely love corn potage with crusty bread, as a side with katsu curry, or even by itself–but then again, I am nuts about corn in general and love eating it in just about any preparation or style. Even if you don’t necessarily feel the same way, I hope you give it a try and enjoy it!

IMG_7052

Recipe adapted from Little Japan Mama.

 

 

You may also like...

8 Comments

  1. […] And a little more info, from Umami Holiday: […]

  2. Thank you for this recipe!! One of my favorite things from living in Japan! Made it last night and it was delicious. Bookmarking!

    1. admin says:

      I have a friend who lived in Japan as well, and he can’t get enough of corn soup either 🙂 Glad you enjoyed it!

  3. This was delicious! I’ll be making this again. I didn’t have broth so I used shiro miso but it turned out fine.

    1. Glad to hear it!

  4. I loved this recipe! I made it for my friends who hate corn and the LOVED this! Thank you SO much for the recipe! I didn’t have any milk and we ate it as is and was amazing! I can’t wait to try it with the milk this time as well!

  5. Chantal says:

    Thank you for this simple and delicious recipe! I really wanted some packaged ramen (I know, I know… it was a moment of weakness!) but when I discovered I didn’t have any, I ate an Umaibo snack instead. Then I thought, “why don’t I just make corn potage instead!?” Stumbled upon your recipe via google, and I was on my way to a huge pot of deliciousness in no time!

    I added potatoes and saved a couple from being puréed. That made the soup taste even more like an umaibo! It’s so good (bet it’s even better if you make it in summer with fresh sweet corn). I will be making this again in the future and maybe getting creative with it when I feel adventurous, although the classic version here is so comforting, too. <3

    Thanks again!

Leave a Reply to admin Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published.