Filipino-Chinese Corn Soup (Chicken or Crab)

Method

1. Choose the chicken version or the crab version before starting. For crab, use 200 g fully cooked picked meat instead of the 250 g raw chicken; check carefully for shell and keep refrigerated. The two versions share one soup method rather than requiring separate near-identical pages.
2. Blend or mash about half the corn with 150 ml of the measured stock. Leave the other half whole for texture. Bring the remaining stock to a simmer in a medium saucepan, then add the mashed corn mixture and whole kernels.
3. For the chicken version, add the thin chicken pieces and simmer gently for 6–8 minutes until cooked through, reaching 74°C. For the crab version, simmer the corn base for 5 minutes first, then add the cooked crab and heat thoroughly without breaking it to shreds.
4. Add soy sauce, white pepper and only as much salt as needed. Stir the cornstarch slurry again and pour in about two-thirds while stirring. Simmer for 1 minute, then add the rest only if necessary. The soup should be lightly silky, not gelatinous.
5. Keep the soup at a gentle bubbling simmer. Stir in a slow circle and pour beaten egg in a thin stream. Pause for a few seconds to let ribbons set, then move gently; vigorous whisking makes tiny cloudy fragments instead.
6. Cook another minute until the egg is fully set, then add sesame oil and most of the spring onion. Taste once more. If too thick, loosen with a little hot stock or water rather than adding more salt or sauce.
7. Ladle into bowls and add the remaining spring onion. Refrigerate leftovers within 2 hours in shallow containers and use within 2 days. Reheat once to a full steaming temperature, 74°C, stirring so the thickened base heats evenly.