Go Back
–+ servings

Corn Potage (Japanese Corn Soup) from Scratch

Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time20 minutes
Total Time30 minutes
Author Yuto Omura
Servings 4 portions

Ingredients 
 

Croutons

  • 150 g baguette cubed, or any bread with baguette-level firmness
  • 1 tbsp olive oil extra-virgin
  • 1 tsp dry mixed herbs Italian seasoning or herbs de Provence
  • ⅛ tsp salt
  • 1 tbsp butter melted

Corn Potage

  • 2 ears corn on the cob whole, fresh preferred
  • 2 tbsp unsalted butter
  • 100 g onion thinly sliced
  • 300 ml whole milk do not use low-fat
  • salt and pepper white or black pepper
  • heavy cream optional
  • dried parsley

Instructions 

Homemade Croutons

  • Preheat the oven to 180 °C (356 °F). While you wait, mix 1 tbsp olive oil, 1 tbsp butter , 1 tsp dry mixed herbs and ⅛ tsp salt in a mixing bowl until well combined. Add the cubed 150 g baguette and mix until evenly coated.
    Cubed baguette coated in butter, olive oil and dry herbs
  • Spread the baguette cubes over a baking tray in a single layer so no cubes are overlapping, then bake for 10 mins on the bottom shelf.
    Homemade croutons on a baking sheet
  • Once golden and crispy, remove from the oven and set aside for later.
    Homemade croutons on a wooden chopping board

Corn Potage

  • Wash 2 ears corn on the cob and slice the kernels off in rows. Cut the cores into thirds or quarters.
    Corn cobs with the kernels removed and core cut into quarters on a wooden chopping board
  • Melt 2 tbsp unsalted butter in a pot over medium heat, and add 100 g onion (finely sliced). Fry until soft and transulent, then reduce the heat to medium-low. Avoid browning the onions and reduce the heat if they start to catch.
    sliced onion frying in butter in a pan
  • Pour 300 ml whole milk into the pot and add the cob cores along with a few pinches of salt and pepper.
    Heat until small bubbles start to appear around the surface edges. Do not let it boil. Turn off the heat, then remove and discard the cores.
    The core of a corn cob simmering in milk with onions
  • Add the corn kernels and another pinch of salt and pepper, then return to a low heat.
  • Heat gently until small bubbles start to appear once more, then take the pot off the heat and leave to cool slightly.
    Corn kernels in milk with sautéed onions
  • Blitz the soup thoroughly using your preferred method (immersion blender or heatproof blender).
    blitzed corn potage in a blender
  • Pour the mixture through a fine mesh sieve for an extra smooth result.
    Japanese corn potage poured through a strainer
  • Reheat on the stove top if needed and season with extra salt and pepper to taste. Serve with an optional drizzle of heavy cream, a generous helping of homemade croutons and a sprinkle of dried parsley. Enjoy!
    Japanese corn potage in a grey soup cup topped with fresh cream, homemade croutons and parsley

Notes

Never let the milk boil: Corn runs gently acidic, and acid plus hard heat curdles milk into grainy bits that never fully come back. Keep the flame low.
Slice the kernels shallow: Dig deep and tough cob bits ride into the pot, and the sieve does not promise to catch them. I have done it once and paid the price. Cut shallow and let the cores repay you in the milk.
Blend, then strain: Corn's seed coat survives even a strong blender, so a smooth-sounding blitz still hides skins that land as grit. Press the soup through a fine mesh sieve; that pass is the silkiness.
Blend longer than feels done: Stop early and half-broken kernels clog the mesh and drag bits through it. Run the machine past the point that looks finished, until nothing visibly textured remains.
Salt to taste at the very end: No fixed amount works! Seasonal corn swings ear to ear, and after many batches mine still sometimes leans sweet even though I didn't add sugar. Add salt pinch by pinch until you get that balance just right.