1070 Pendleton Court
My comfort food is frozen corn heated in a pan with butter. This is what Mimi made for me and my brother Jay when we were living with her in South Jersey. I was in 4th grade at Osage elementary school, Jay, in 2nd, and Mimi in the 5th grade at a middle school I can’t recall the name.
When we got home after school it was just the three of us. My mom, uncle and aunt were working and my cousin Michael was in high school. My dad was working in Korea at the time. The three of us would listen to Mimi’s records (Billy Joel’s The Stranger, Bee Gees and Bay City Rollers) in her room, sitting on her beanbag chair and wondering at her window garden (square plastic pot with some seeds planted). We watched our favorite shows: Eight is Enough, The Love Boat and Fantasy Island, and loved it.
Before Jay and I knew we were hungry, Mimi would get a bag of Green Giant corn from the freezer and heat it up in a pot with lots of butter. She always knew me before I knew me. It was always delicious. The warm kernels were sweeter than Apple Jacks (my favorite cereal). I loved the crunchy texture of the corn as I smooshed them in my mouth with my teeth, then my tongue. The creamy richness of the butter was a delight. (I later realized it was the salt in the butter that elevated the taste of the corn.)
During graduate school in NYC when I lived alone, I would buy a bag of frozen corn and a stick of butter. I didn’t cook back then. It was the only thing I knew how to make. Mimi was living in the city too, so she would always invite me over to East 96th and cook for me. She is and always has been an amazing cook.
After a hard day at work in my thirties, especially when I was stressed with clients and needed some time alone, I would make myself some heated corn with butter. The amount of butter varied, depending on how depressed I was.
Before my divorce, at the lowest point of my marriage, I talk to Mimi about everything. She would always listen without judgment and give me good advice. I trusted her more than I trusted myself a lot of the time. This is still true today. When I wasn’t able to talk to Mimi because of the time zone (I was in Honolulu, she was in NYC or Seoul) I could always go to the kitchen and have some corn with butter. I would make it for myself alone. It calmed me.
I moved back to NYC because Mimi is here. When I moved into her old apartment Mimi had a bottle of champagne and fresh fruits on the counter and an orchid for the window. The purple orchid is in its second bloom today. It was in Mimi’s old kitchen that I started cooking.
After about a year of cooking I was able to create a dish of my own making. Naturally it was with corn.
I put all my heart into creating this dish. Because it is for Mimi.
Corn Soup for Mimi
Ingredients
Organic Sweet Yellow Corn (Frozen) ….. 16 oz
Baby Bella Whole Mushrooms ….. 8 oz
Onion ….. 1/2
Garlic ….. 2 cloves
Oat milk ….. 1 cup
Extra virgin olive oil ….. 2 tablespoons
Serrano pepper ….. 1/2
Salt ….. to taste
Black pepper ….. to taste
Dill ….. garnish
Instructions
Make sure to use “SWEET” corn.
Regular corn does not taste as good. Also, frozen corn retains the flavor well, so no need to use fresh corn unless you get a super sweet seasonal corn from the farmers market.
I like the nostalgia of the frozen corn in a bag.
Boil the corn.
Use a large pot so that the water does not boil over. Put the frozen corn into the cold water. Turn off the heat as soon as the water starts to boil.
The goal here is to heat the corn, not to cook it. Cooking too much will dilute the flavor of the corn.
Use a strainer to get rid of the water before putting the corn into the blender.
Heat the oil
Bring the pan to medium heat. Then coat the pan with extra virgin olive oil. I use olive oil for flavor. But you must keep the heat at medium so it doesn’t burn.
You can use other oils that have a higher flash point and add olive oil later during blending.
I like to take my time with the medium heat to ensure I get maximum flavor from the extra virgin olive oil.
Infuse the garlic
Garlic has different flavor profiles and functions depending on how you cut and cook it.
For this soup the function of the garlic is to bind the other flavors together. We are NOT looking to taste the garlic per se.
Smash the garlic cloves lightly with a knife on the cutting board so that the juices from the garlic are visible. Then mince into small pieces. Scoop up all the pieces including the juices and put into heated oil.
Heat for about 30 seconds until just before the garlic turns brown. The garlic will taste bitter if it turns dark, so be carful not to overheat.
Caramelize the onion
Dice the onion into small pieces. Smaller dice means more surface area gets caramelized.
Caramelized onions have a deep sweet flavor.
Make sure the garlic infused olive oil coats the onions as you sauté. Three minutes. Make sure you don’t sauté completely. You need to take into consideration the time it takes the mushrooms to cook.
Sauté mushrooms
Slice the mushrooms. You want the mushrooms to be thin enough to cook quickly so that you don’t over cook the onions and garlic. Two minutes. Salt to taste.
Into the blender
Add the sauté and corn to the blender.
Fresh Serrano pepper
A cooked Serrano pepper will no longer be spicy. Make sure to put in fresh Serrano.
My preference is to use 1/2 of a three inch Serrano pepper. Put into blender.
Blend with oat milk
Milk, cream, and/or stock is used frequently to add tasty liquid to soups.
I wanted to create something that tastes lighter and elevates the corn. So I use oat milk.
Oat milk is made of oats, water, vegetable oil, sweetener, and binding agent. After testing several brands I decided on two. Chobani and Oatly. These use less sweeteners and binding agents. Also, do not use “less fat” versions. You really need the full fat vegetable oil in the oat milk for the smooth texture.
Almond, soy and coconut milk over power the soup with their unique flavors. Oat milk seems to be the most neutral flavor.
Add about 1/2 cup to the blender before you start blending. You need liquid for the blender to work. After about 3 minutes of blending, check the viscosity of the soup. Add more oat milk to your desired thickness.
Salt to taste
I usually end up adding about three pinches of salt to the blender.
Taste the soup before you take it out of the blender.
Oil on top
Drizzle some extra virgin olive oil on top of the soup when you serve. This will add aroma, taste and a delicious look to the dish.
Garnish with greens
I like to add a sprinkle of dill on top. Not too much. Just enough to give a hint of flavor.
Better recipe
Some dishes are made with love. You never forget them.
Ingredients
Frozen sweet corn in a plastic bag
Salted butter
Instruction
Make it for someone you love
Love them forever
계란밥 is that for me.