Chicken + Corn + Egg Soup (Revisited)

Chicken + Corn + Egg Soup

Back in July I posted this chicken, corn and egg soup recipe. LOLOL, right? Besides the obviously thoughtless styling please allow me to explain my revisiting of this post. I’m in my third year of university (Bachelor of Digital Media) and for my final project I’ve (foolishly?) proposed to design and photograph my very own cookbook. It’s pretty exciting. Here’s a working cover:

Playing the role of both chef, stylist and photographer really takes its toll to the point I’ve been flailing and shouting about never wanting to be a photographer anymore, ever. However I must always keep in mind this is all for the greater good despite the fact I’ll never be able to sit and enjoy my lunch without having spent an hour taking photos of it for the next seven months. Most entries you’ve seen this year will be compiled in my book so THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH to everybody who has offered kind and constructive words re: photography. Keep it coming. And don’t get afraid to get nasty; I’m used to getting my butt kicked at uni so if you see something you don’t like please go nuts with it.

Chicken + Corn + Egg Soup

On to the food; my prior entry explained this soup came about whilst I was very, very ill but this time around I’ve spared a little more effort to transform this into a more graceful dish (using real stock this time, not the supermarket type! Wow!); someone on Pinterest even mentioned I should probably have chicken pieces in here, so thanks for your feedback! I have delivered. This should serve around four friends.

Chicken + Corn + Egg Soup
(an original recipe)

1L chicken stock (please refer to this recipe)
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tbs ginger, minced or finely grated
2x 420g cans creamed corn
1 tbs soy sauce
2 eggs
1 tbs corn flour
Salt and pepper, to taste
Chopped shallots, to serve

1. Prepare chicken stock as per these instructions. Once drained and cooled remove chicken from the bones, lightly shred and reserve for later.
2. In a medium-sized pot sizzle the ginger in sesame oil until fragrant. Add the stock, creamed corn and soy sauce and stir to combine.
3. In a small bowl combine cornflour with equal part water and stir until dissolved. Pour into soup and stir – this works as a thickening agent.
4. In another small bowl whisk the two eggs. Slowly pour in them in ensuring the soup is hot so they cook almost immediately. This will create a lovely, light weave of egg throughout your soup.
5. Ladle out in bowls and adorn with a generous pinch of shredded chicken reserved from earlier. Garnish with chopped shallots and cracked pepper.

Let’s get these bad boys side-by-side; here’s a comparative image from August 2011 to now illustrating a significant improvement of styling and photo editing. Funny how I used to think the photo on the left was the bees knees:

… and in another year’s time I’ll probably be looking back at these photos having a solid laugh too (in fact I’m already finding reasons to dislike them – I’m still clumsy with dark coloured backgrounds). At least it’s comforting to know there’s always room for growth and improvement, right?

PS. On a completely unrelated note – does anybody here use Instagram? Since it’s now available for Android I’ve completely jumped aboard, let’s be friends! My username is bananasoiree.

Tags: , , ,

  1. Barbara Powell’s avatar

    very proud of you lovely! I am sure your book will be fabulous

    Reply

  2. Tina @ bitemeshowme’s avatar

    Good on you for taking on such a challenge. You have the skill AND the eye for it so I’m sure you will have no issues. It will probably be which photo to choose from the 20-30 that you’ve taken. hehe. Wow that soup looks so good right now! Esp cos I’m not feeling the best…..

    Reply

  3. Jesica @ Pencil Kitchen’s avatar

    Wow.. your very own cookbook… That’s madness! good madness! :) I’m crying as I scroll down, really… cuz i want all of those goodies so bad! And this soup! just splendid!

    Reply

  4. Apple’s avatar

    That’s a huge challenge to take on! I wish you lots of luck! And your photos of chicken, corn and egg soup look delicious. I could really go with a nice bowl of that soup right now :)

    Reply

  5. Tracee’s avatar

    I am a soup junkie. I am one of those that looks in the fridge and pantry and just dumps ingredients into my stock pot and and it transforms into this delicious hearty meal we eat for days and we freeze the rest. This soup? Oh my…I cannot wait to try this!! I’ve never seen this combination before and because it has corn, and my husband HATES corn in his soup, and I’m very pissed at him at the moment, I’m making this TODAY!! Ha!

    Best of luck with the book! Everything looks great to me!!

    Reply

  6. Anna @The Littlest Anchovy’s avatar

    Wow! I am so impressed by this! Your photos are really wonderful. I am still in the stages of working out my style and getting to know my camera. Love this recipe. Have bookmarked it for when it becomes colder :)

    Reply

  7. Debs @ The Spanish Wok’s avatar

    Wow, writing and photograping your own cookbook, well done you. I’m sure it’ll be a success your photos are great. What would I know though, being one who really doesn’t understand the camera at all LOL.

    Love this recipe.

    You are welcome to join in my monthly food blogger event THE SOUP KITCHEN, here all bloggers are welcome, hope to see you participate soon. Different theme each month.

    Reply

  8. ohkeeka [The Type A Housewife]’s avatar

    I don’t think the old photo is THAT bad! I have an easy time coming up with recipes, but the photography & food styling is a real struggle for me. I love the cookbook cover and I love the recipe (sans chicken for me, though!).

    Reply

  9. Erin@TheFoodMentalist’s avatar

    I too am always trying to learn about photography and add better photos. I am still a long way off but you have nailed it! These photos are awesome! You don’t need to improve anything :)

    Reply

  10. Joanne’s avatar

    I can’t imagine putting a whole cookbook together myself…more power to you! The photos look gorgeous!

    Reply

  11. JasmyneTea’s avatar

    Send me a copy of your cookbook! Lol. I do like your moodier styling as of late :)

    Reply

  12. yummychunklet’s avatar

    This definitely looks like a soup I’d like to eat!

    Reply

  13. jessica’s avatar

    oh god, i know that feeling of seeing older photos and HATING them, especially when you used to think they were really good! and i can feel myself having those feelings about some current photos i take, but since i’ve never studied any kind of photography or design i don’t really get any constructive criticism, it’s just me trying to figure it all out for myself and take photos that i like, haha. your photos do look incredible though, definitely of a professional cookbook standard, once you’re done making yours you should definitely send it around to some publishers and see what can come of it!

    Reply

  14. msihua’s avatar

    Fantastic! I really love the use of the sprig of spring onion in the shot! So pretty! Shall experiment with my shots now :)

    Reply

  15. Mike’s avatar

    Man, that looks terrific. I’m going to give it a try in a few days. I’ve been meaning to do some form of egg drop soup for a while – Chinese, Greek, Italian, whatever.

    Reply

  16. myfudo’s avatar

    A cookbook of your own, that is fantastic. A dream I would want to fulfill one day too…I know how you feel about seeing old photos and how you know how to make it look prettier now. We grow better, as we try something new. This looks like a really flavorful soup. Will try very soon…

    Reply

  17. meatballs & milkshakes’s avatar

    It looks wonderful and congrats on the cookbook!

    Reply

  18. Krispy’s avatar

    Yup, I know what I’m having for dinner tonight!! Congrats on the cookbook!!

    Reply

Reply to msihua Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *