Ingredients: cans of corn: whole kernel & creamy style, 2 eggs, chopped ham, salt, corn starch, chopped cilantro or green onions, butter, pepper (optional）

Prep time: 8 minutes Cook time: 30 minutes

材料：玉米罐頭：玉米顆粒&玉米漿、2 個蛋、火腿粒、鹽、太白粉、香菜未或葱花、奶油、黑胡椒粉(可省略）

準備時間： 8 分鐘 煮食時間：30 分鐘

Directions:

• Cook 5 cups of water in a pot with medium heat on the stovetop
• Add chopped ham into the pot
• Open 2 cans of corn and pour them into the pot
• Add 1/2 teaspoon of salt
• When the soup starts boiling in the pot, turn the heat down to low and cook for 20-25 minutes
• Dissolve 2 tablespoons of corn starch with small amount of cold water and pour it into the pot. Stir well.
• Use a fork or chopsticks to beat 2 eggs till the yolks and whites are blended. Pour the eggs into the pot while stirring the soup
• Add chopped cilantro or green onion in the pot. Add butter and/or pepper if desire. Cook for another minute or two.

作法：

• 拿一個中型鍋子，放入5杯水，用中火在爐子上煮
• 放入切碎的火腿肉
• 打開兩罐玉米罐頭，倒入鍋中
• 加1/2匙鹽
• 鍋子裏的食物開始沸騰時，轉成小火，継續煮20-25 分鐘
• 2茶匙太白粉用少量水調勻，倒入鍋中攪拌均勻
• 蛋用筷子或叉子將蛋白和蛋黃打勻，一面攪拌一面倒入鍋中
• 加入香菜末或葱花，也可以隨個人喜好加入奶油和黑胡椒粉，再煮1-2 分鐘即可。

Note : If you don’t have canned corns in hand, you can use fresh or frozen corns instead. Use a blender or food processor to liquefy half of the corns. You may have to adjust the cooking time to the desired softness of corns. This soup is rich in its texture and presentation from combining these two different forms of corns. Of course, other ingredients contribute its colors and flavors too.

I remember having this style of corn soups in steak houses in Taiwan back to my college years. Not sure if this is considered as a Taiwanese style of corn soup. It is simple and flavorful. I have never found this soup in US, No matter where this dish was originated from, I believe Taiwanese chefs and people had added local elements in it and made it best in taste and flavor. This may be somewhat biased by my personal judgement and emotional attachment to Taiwanese foods. You should try it and judge it yourself.

筆記：如果你身邊沒有玉米罐頭，你可以使用新鮮或冷凍的玉米粒，用果汁機將一半的玉米打碎再一起煮。你可能需要調整烹煮玉米的時間，來達到你喜歡的軟硬度。這道湯因著將這兩種玉米混合煮成，讓它吃起來的質感和整體呈現更豐富。當然其他材料的加入也增添了它的顏色和風味。

我記得第一次嘗這道玉米濃湯，是大學時代在台灣的牛排館裡和牛排一起吃的。不確定是否可以稱作台式玉米濃湯, 作法簡單但美味。我在美國沒有喝過這様作法的湯。不論玉米濃湯起源於何處，我相信台灣人對美食的追求，能加入地方元素，讓這道湯味道更豐富美味。當然這也包含了我個人對台灣美食的情感聯結和不可抑制的偏好。你不妨試過之後，自己做判斷一下。