Coconut Corn Chowder

Let's talk about things that should have been better than they were:

1) This soup, which was fine but lacked a wow factor.
2) The Lone Ranger (2013), which was not as bad as advertised but had the wrong kind of wow factor.

I KNOW. SUCH A TIMELY, RELEVANT POST. 

Don't worry; I'm gonna draw a sweet parallel. 

My friend Dan came over to eat and chill with me tonight (thanks, Dan!), and we decided to flip through the new releases and see if there was anything we both wanted to see. Apparently, we both had a lingering curiosity about the supposed atrocity that was The Lone Ranger. I've even been hearing some "It got a raw deal" type things said about it lately. Remember how everyone was totally bananas about Inception at first but then it quickly became the cool movie hate, because you were soooo smart and above it? I feel like the reverse has been happening lately with TLR. Could be some insidious, way too late, Bruckheimer-funded hype campaign, but it snagged my attention. $4.99 and 30 seconds later, we were perplexed and on the tracks toward mystified.

I'm going to leave any allegations of racism out of my assessment (although you could argue that I Johnny Depped this soup by appropriating vaguely Thai flavors into a classic American presentation). Here's my problem: It (movie/soup) couldn't decide where its loyalties stood.

At the film's denouement, there's this very satisfying use of the William Tell Overture, a clear nod to the folks who came to the film with a reference point. Me? I used to fall asleep listening to the Old Time Radio hour. There was an instantaneous feeling of warmth and nostalgia. But even without a reference point, the music would still work like gangbusters.

Then at the end, there's the gorgeous shot in which our hero rears up on his horse, holding his white hat aloft, sun streaks exploding everywhere, and says, "Hi ho, Silver, away!" To which Tonto replies, "Never say that again."

WHAT. Come on now. That's just lame and rude. It's crapping on the memories of folks who grew up with the character, and to those who have no previous experience it can't possibly make any sense. Pointless! Pay homage or don't -- you can't really have it both ways without coming off disingenuous.

What a pretty soup, and what a pretty movie. The ingredients were there for something at least fun, even if not particularly memorable. But, just like Gore Verbinski, I didn't commit to a true chowder or to going all the way with South Asian flavors.

(That was the sweet parallel. In retrospect, it wasn't that sweet; I just felt like ranting about the movie for a minute.)

A few splashes of fish sauce, a genuine kick of heat of some sort, and possibly some palm sugar could have turned this recipe into a keeper. Likewise, I could have gone classic chowder here, and that's never a bad thing (except maybe for the old arteries).

I will say: the corn broth was quite delicious on its own. I have a bit leftover, and I might just drink it as a sort of savory tisane later. I also really enjoyed the raw, crunchy radishes added just at the end. Interestingly, most of the bite usually associated with radishes was tempered by the broth, but the crispness held its ground to the end.

Listen, in the end, The Lone Ranger I guess was fine. So was the soup. After all, we finished watching the movie all the way through the credits, and we each ate every bite of our big bowls.  But you know, YOLO, right? I'm aiming for home runs every time.

Here's the recipe, but you can do better. In fact, you can do better with this corn chowder, if you feel like it.

Coconut Corn Chowder
Four servings
Adapted from this Food Network Magazine recipe 

INGREDIENTS

4 ears of corn
2 cups diced red potatoes 
3/4 cup chopped scallions

2 tablespoons grated peeled fresh ginger
4 cloves garlic, smashed
8 black peppercorns
1 stalk lemongrass, cut into thirds

4 tablespoons coconut oil
Kosher salt
1 Fresno pepper, seeded and minced
1 13 .5-ounce can coconut milk
a handful of Thai basil leaves
4 radishes, thinly sliced

1/2 cup grape tomatoes, sliced in half
1/2 cup roughly chopped fresh cilantro, plus a few leaves as garnish

juice of 1/2 lime, plus lime wedges for garnish

METHOD 

Cut corn kernels from cobs and reserve kernels for later. Throw the corn cobs, 1 cup of the red potatoes, 1/2 cup scallions, 1 tablespoon of ginger, garlic, lemongrass, and peppercorns in a big pot. Pour in 5 cups of water and turn heat to high to bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, for about half an hour.

In your soup pot, melt your coconut oil over medium heat and add the remaining 1 cup of potatoes with a little salt. Cook for about 5 minutes, then add the remaining tablespoon of ginger, the jalapeno and the Fresno pepper. After a minute, add the corn kernels and let cook for another 3 to 5 minutes. 

Strain the broth into a bowl. Measure out two cups of the broth and pour it over the potato/corn mixture, then bring to a simmer. Let simmer for about 10 minutes to blend flavors, then add coconut milk and Thai basil and bring back to a simmer. Stir in tomatoes, radishes, cilantro and lime juice. 

Serve immediately with lime wedges, and topped with scallions and cilantro.