corn chowder

Well, I made it to the supermarket before the rain got too hard and picked up some food items to last us at least until Sunday. They say that the typhoon will pass over Osaka around Sunday or so.

I don't know what it is, but there is something about rainy days that make me want soup. Sure, outside the humidity is still awful with the rain, but being indoors, I just wanted to curl up with a book and make some soup for dinner.

It has been awhile since I've made this soup, but since I still had some luncheon meat from making goya champuru, I decided to make a soup that we used to eat growing up....corn chowder. This dish is really easy to make and doesn't take too much time either.

1 slice of bacon, cut into strips
1/2 luncheon meat/spam, cut into cubes
1 potato, cut into cubes
1/2 onion, diced
corn kernels taken off 1 cob, rinsed and separated
2 cups skim milk
salt and pepper to taste

1. Prep the bacon, luncheon meat, potato, onion and corn.
2. In a pot, heat some oil and add the onions, cook until transparent.
3. Add the meats, potato, corn and milk.
4. Cook until the milk begins to bubble, then turn down the heat to simmer until the potatoes are cooked.
5. Add salt and pepper to taste and serve with rice.

NOTES: This was the first time that I used fresh corn, it was great because the kernels stayed quite crisp even after cooking it. If you cannot find fresh corn, you can use canned corn just drain it well. Also, I know a lot of people do not eat luncheon meat/spam, but it is something that I grew up eating and most people from Hawaii love it. If you do not eat luncheon meat/spam, don't use it, but don't cut out the bacon from this recipe, it really gives this soup flavor. Instead of rice, you could also eat this with crackers or bread too.

Enjoy!