Corn and Spinach Soup

I grew up in the Philippines where corn is a staple food of about 20% of the country’s population. Whenever it was corn season in our province, our dining table always had corn on it: steamed, boiled or grilled corn on the cob (nilaga or inihaw na mais) and boiled whole kernel corn with coconut (binatog) for snack, buttered whole kernel corn as side dish for grilled chicken or pork, whole kernel corn as part of a soup dish and baby corn as part of our favorite vegetable dish called chopsuey.

Corn and malunggay (moringa or sajina) soup was my mother’s favorite. She used to cook it so often that it became my favorite too. I was missing it last Friday…but I didn’t have malunggay. I wanted it so badly that’s why I thought of just using what’s available, which at that time was spinach. I know that spinach and malunggay taste different, but the flavors of corn and spinach really work well together. I cooked this soup just like how my mother used to cook her corn and malunggay soup. I just substituted malunggay with spinach…and it came out really good! Check it out! 

* I shared this on Melt in Your Mouth Monday and Hearth and Soul Hop.

Prep Time: 10 minutes                   Cook Time: ~25 minutes                    Servings: 4-6 

Ingredients:

• 2 cups whole kernel corn, fresh or frozen
• 1 cup pork strips or ground pork
• 1/8 cup garlic, minced
• ½ cup onions, minced
• 1 tsp ginger, minced
• 2 cups spinach, chopped
• 3 Tbsp fish sauce
• 4 cups water (or stock if available)
• 1 Tbsp Olive Oil
• Salt and pepper to taste

Procedure:

1. Sprinkle pork with a pinch of salt and pepper.

2. In a covered saucepan over medium heat, cook pork in 1/8 cup water until water evaporates and oil comes out.

3. Add olive oil and sauté pork until brown.

4. Push pork to one side of the saucepan. Add garlic and sauté until light brown.

5. Add onion and ginger. Saute until onion is translucent.

6. Add corn. Saute for a minute.

7. Add water and fish sauce. Mix well. Cover and bring to a boil. Adjust heat to medium low and simmer until corn is tender.

8. Add salt and pepper to suit your taste.

9. Add spinach and simmer for a minute or two.

10. Remove from heat.

11. Serve hot!