Corn Potage (Creamy Japanese Corn Soup)

Corn potage, the creamy corn soup so popular in Japan that you can find it in vending machines, is easy to make in your own kitchen. 

This is the most popular yōshoku (Western-inspired Japanese food) soup in Japan.  It’s based on a French soup and has a super smooth, silky consistency and quite a sweet taste from the fresh corn.  

I love this recipe because it’s so simple and just uses a few ingredients, which really lets the corn take center stage.  Corn is so important to this recipe that it’s used in two ways.  First we’ll use the corn cobs to make a corn stock.  Second, we’ll blend that stock up with freshly sauteed corn kernels (and other tasty things like onions, heavy cream and milk).

What is corn potage?

Corn potage is a corn and cream based soup that’s part of Japan’s yōshoku style food tradition.  

Corn was first introduced to Japan in the 1500s from the Portuguese.  But this wasn’t the typical sweet corn that’s eaten today.  Instead it was a type of flint corn, which have hard, large kernels and are usually ground into a meal or used for feeding animals.  

It wasn’t until hundreds of years later, in the early 1900s, that sweet corn was first grown in Japan on the northern island of Hokkaido.  By the 1950s and 60s, corn started to gain steam and was being added to the popular diet. 

Hokkaido is still the chief producer of corn in Japan and corn is heavily associated with the island.  Tourists visiting Hokkaido will find all kinds of corn-based snacks in the city, like Hokkaido-Style Corn on the Cob or even corn chocolate.

Today, corn has become pretty popular across all of Japan and is used in many recipes throughout the cuisine, such as tempuras, stir frys, and in ramens.

But corn potage happens to be the most popular recipe that uses corn in Japan.  

Since this soup has a subtly sweet flavor, kids absolutely love it and drink it often.  And because of that, it’s developed a nostalgic feel to it that reminds many Japanese of their childhoods. 

It’s also served out of vending machines, which is an indication of just how popular it is.

Corn Potage vs. Corn Soup

The terms “Corn potage” and “corn soup” are used in Japan to describe two different ways of preparing Western-style corn soups.  

“Potage” has a consistency that’s completely silky and smooth, without any chunks of corn.  “Corn soup” has a chunkier texture with pieces of corn left in the soup.

The word “potage” has medieval roots and comes from the French language, describing any kind of thick soup, and especially those with cream.  This term has fallen out of favor in English and we don’t really use it anymore.  

But potage is alive and well in Japan, with this corn potage being the most popular Western-style soup in Japan.

How to make creamy corn potage

1. Sauté the vegetables.  First sauté onions with olive oil and butter on medium heat until translucent.  Then add the corn kernels and cook for five minutes until the corn starts to smell toasty and just as it’s starting to slightly brown.  Now add the paprika, stir, and cook for a quick 30 seconds.  Don’t cook it too long, or you’ll scorch the paprika and give it a bitter taste.
2. Add the liquids and cobs.  Add 1 cup of water, along with the cream, milk, the bare corn cobs and a half teaspoon of kosher salt.
3. Cook the potage.  Turn the heat to high and bring the potage to a boil.  Once boiling, reduce the heat to medium low, cover, and simmer for 15 minutes.
4. Blend.  Once finished cooking, discard the corn cobs and add the potage to a blender.  Blend on high speed until thoroughly blended and smooth.
5. Strain.  Put a fine meshed strainer over a large bowl and pour the liquid over the strainer into the bowl.  Use a rubber spatula to push against the mixture to release all of the liquid.  Once finished, discard the solids.  The potage is finished and ready to serve garnished with fresh parsley.

Three tips for creating deep corn flavor

There are three key steps to imparting a deep corn flavor into your potage. 

1. Sauté the corn first. Sautéing the corn in olive oil and butter, before adding any liquid, begins to roast the corn and brings out a sweet aroma.  We’ll sauté it just a bit, very slightly browning the kernels. 
2. Use plain old water instead of any flavored broth.  Vegetable and chicken stocks don’t taste like corn, so we’ll skip them.  Simple water is best for absorbing the flavors of the corn. 
3. Boil the cobs directly in the soup.  We’ll use the bare corn cobs to flavor the soup. Just add the cobs directly into the liquids and boil everything together. Corn cobs are great for making stock and give the potage an amazingly deep corn flavor. 

Ingredients

Corn on the cob.  Use sweet, fresh corn over frozen or canned.  And don’t throw away the cobs!  We’ll use them to create a deeply corn flavored broth. 

Heavy cream.  This recipe is probably so popular in Japan because cream and corn is such a perfect combination. The rich, fatty dairy plays right off of the sweet, light corn to create a soup that has heft but keeps it bright from the corn. 

Milk.  To keep the soup from getting too heavy, we’ll add milk alongside the cream. You can also use half-and-half instead of the milk and cream.  Just omit those two and use two cups of half-and-half instead. 

Onions.  Aromatics provide the base of almost any good Western-style soup and give the soup depth and backbone.

Butter and olive oil.  Use a combination of butter and olive oil to sauté and brown the onions and corn. 

Paprika. A bit of paprika for a slight hint of the spice.

Fresh parsley.  For a bit of garnish.  Totally optional.

What to serve with corn potage?

Since corn potage is a yōshoku-style dish, it’s best served alongside other Western foods.  

Spaghetti.  Serving corn potage with Spaghetti Napolitan, the Japanese ketchup-based pasta, is an absolute classic.  You can also try it with other Italian-inspired pastas like mentaiko pasta.

Green salad.  Try a green salad of lettuce with a simple wafu salad dressing.  This recipe from Iamafoodblog.com uses soy sauce, rice vinegar and a few other pantry ingredients.

Bread and butter.  Add some crusty French bread to dunk into the corn potage.