Corn and Cauliflower Soup with
Chicken Slaw

The fragrant, gingery aroma stirs memories of weekends and my mother feeding my sisters and me when we were young: a Saturday morning when she was home, cartoons on the TV, my sisters and I squirreling around while my mom urged us to come back for a bite. Sometimes it was rice and leftovers, and sometimes it was congee; I would always get the last satisfying scrapings of the rice that got stuck to the bottom of the pot. This soup, with its creamy corn and cauliflower puree and chicken-y warmth, reminds me of that.

2 medium sized cuts of chicken (breast, thigh, leg), skin trimmed and optionally reserved

1 1/2 inch section of ginger, sliced

3 stalks green onion

1 cup cauliflower, cut into florets

1 cup corn

1 tsp fish sauce

Water, as needed

Salt and pepper, as needed

1. For the stock, place the chicken, ginger, and green onion in a pot. Pour over water so it covers the chicken by about one inch.
Add needed salt to season the chicken. Simmer over medium-low heat, making sure to skim and discard the foam, until chicken is cooked through. Set chicken aside to cool and discard aromatics.

2. Bring broth to boil, then add cauliflower, cooking until fork-tender. Add corn and heat until warmed through. 

3. Shred cooked chicken and combine with slaw ingredients. You may soak the onions in water beforehand to remove its strong bite.

 4. Reserve a quarter cup of corn, then blend the rest with the cauliflower and broth. Back in the pot, season to taste with fish sauce
and pepper.

5. To serve, ladle hot soup into bowls and top with slaw. 

Optional: For a crispy topping, slice reserved chicken skin into small pieces, and fry over medium high heat until the fat has rendered and they are crisp.