Tempeh and Sweet Corn Soup for the Soul

Note:
We thought we’d escaped the Winter without it… but alas, this week my husband and I both had the snotty cold that’s being passed around Melbourne. My favourite cold and flu comfort food is Asian sweet corn soup so I whipped up a batch of chicken and sweet corn soup for him and a batch of tempeh and sweet corn soup for me. It’s easy to make, salty, sweet and wonderful. I was surprised how delicious the tempeh was in this soup, a perfect chicken replacement.

Ingredients:
Sesame oil
1 brown onion or leek, finely sliced
1 stick of celery, finely diced
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon of ginger, grated
250g of tempeh
2 tablespoons of cornflour
2 tins of creamed corn
2 cups of corn kernels (I prefer fresh corn, but tinned is the next best option)
1 litre of  vegetable stock or fake chicken stock like Massel’s liquid stock
1 green spring onion, finely sliced
Coriander to

Instructions:
1. Crumble the tempeh into chunks.
2. Add the cornflour to a small bowl and toss the chunks of tempeh in the cornflour mixture. Coat well.
3. Heat the sesame oil (or vegetable oil) in a large saucepan.
4. Add the onion/leek and fry until soft.
5. Add the celery, ginger and garlic, continue to cook for 3-4 minutes until soft and slightly browned.
6. Add the tempeh and toss in saucepan, cooking over a medium heat. Add a little stock if tempeh begins to stick. Cook for 4-5 minutes until tempeh is golden.
7. Add the vegetable stock, creamed corn and corn kernels. Bring to a gentle simmer and allow to cook for 15 minutes until soup has reduce slightly and nicely thickened.
8. Garnish with green spring onions and coriander.

Kudos:
Thanks to Trudy at ‘Veggie num num’ for this recipe http://www.veggienumnum.com/2010/08/tempeh-sweet-corn-soup/