One of our family’s favorites, sweet corn, is in season from June to October. While we spent the summer in Japan, I received a lot of recipe requests for Corn Potage and Japanese Corn Soup. As soon as I returned, I quickly refined my original recipe so I could share this late, late-summer soup with you. As the nights are starting to make a subtle shift with a touch of cool air, this Japanese Corn Potage or Corn Soup would be the coziest way to savor the deliciousness of the last of the season’s produce.
What is Corn Potage (Japanese Corn Soup)?
Potage refers to thick soups, stews, or porridges that originated in the medieval cuisine of northern France. Despite being a Western-style soup, there is no Western recipe for corn potage on the internet. Instead, you will find Japanese corn potage recipes. In Japan, where most soups are variations of miso soup, you will find a few non-Japanese soups that are just as popular. Corn potage or corn soup is one of them, along with clam chowder, minestrone, borscht, and Chinese-style soups (chuka soup 中華スープ). So, what is corn potage? It’s a super creamy corn soup made with fresh, canned, or frozen corn, onion, milk, and heavy cream. It’s ridiculously simple to make. This creamy corn soup is called “potage,” where the corn kernels and soup are blended till smooth and strained through a fine mesh sieve. As a result, the soup has no fibers and the texture is silky smooth and creamy with a somewhat thick consistency. When the soup is not blended and still has chunky bits of corn, we usually refer to it as corn soup. However, some people might call the creamy corn potage with a thick consistency “corn soup” as well, so it can be a little confusing. Both corn potage and corn soup are especially popular among children because Okosama Lunch (children’s menu) often includes corn potage or soup as part of the kid’s meal next to Ebi Fry and Hambagu. Many of us grew up drinking corn potage, and there is a nostalgic feeling attached to this soup for the Japanese. If you’re in Japan, you can even get corn potage from the vending machine!
3 Tips to Make Delicious Corn Potage (Japanese Corn Soup)
Tip 1 – Cook the cobs together in the soup
If you’re using fresh corn on the cob to make this recipe, do not discard the cobs! Add them to the soup while cooking as they release delicious flavors and sweetness into the soup.
Tip 2 – Use water for the soup
If you prefer a strong corn flavor in your soup, I highly recommend using water to maximize the corn flavor from the corn kernels. Some other recipes for corn soup/corn potage recommend using vegetable or chicken broth or bouillon. I’ve tried them, but as a purist, I stick to using ONLY water to extract the sweet corn flavor for a pure, undiluted taste.
Tip 3 – Adjust the ratio of creaminess with milk and heavy cream
Most of us prefer rich and creamy soup, but not everyone can afford the extra calories from heavy cream. It’s entirely up to you how much heavy cream you want to add to this recipe. Feel free to adjust the ratio of heavy cream and milk for the 2 cups you add to the soup.
Which Do You Prefer: Corn Soup or Corn Potage?
When it comes to texture, you can choose to blend the corn kernels and strain, blend but not strain, or keep the corn kernels as they are. It’s really a personal preference. For those who have tried corn potage in Japan and love it, I’m sure you would prefer following today’s method. Editor’s Note: This post was originally published on September 18, 2017. It was republished with more information on July 29, 2024.
