• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

kawaling pinoy

Serving Delicious Asian Recipes One Pot at a Time

  • Home
  • Recipes
  • Kitchen Tips
  • About
  • Nav Social Menu

Suam na Mais

by Lalaine Manalo last updated November 30, 2019 posted August 30, 2013 18 Comments

442shares
  • Share
  • Pin
  • Email
Recipe Print

Suam na Mais is a Filipino soup made with fresh corn kernels, shrimp, and spinach. It’s creamy, nutritious, and delicious on its own or served as a side dish.

Suam na Mais in a white bowl with plate of rice on the side
Suam na Mais

Suam na Mais was one of the first recipes I posted on the blog in 2013. I am updating it today because a) the old photo was ugly and needed a makeover, b) I finally found the right kind of corn to use at our neighborhood Asian supermarket, and c) I recently learned the traditional seasoning is shrimp paste and not fish sauce.

Filipino-style corn soup in a red pot

What is Suam na Mais

Suma na mais is a type of Kapampangan soup made with fresh corn kernels, green vegetable leaves, flavorful meat, and thick broth.

  • Native white corn
  • Pork, chicken or shrimp
  • Spinach, chili, ampalaya or malunggay leaves
  • Fresh shrimp paste (bagoong alamang)

package of two glutinous white corn

The old version of the recipe uses yellow corn as I couldn’t find native white corn. Although the soup was delicious in its own right, it lacked the thick and creamy consistency of a good suam na mais.

Yellow corn has a tasty flavor but doesn’t have the viscosity of the white variety, which helps thicken the broth naturally. Fortunately, I was able to find these glutinous corn cobs pictured above, and they worked perfectly! If you live in the U.S., you can find them in the freezer section of most Asian supermarkets. If you are in the Philippines, look for mais lagkitan in the wet markets.

I also used fish sauce in my old recipe, but I recently learned from my aunt that the traditional flavoring for this Kapampangan soup is bagok (shrimp paste).

I like to add fresh spinach leaves for color and texture; feel free to use chili leaves, ampalaya leaves or malunggay (moringa) leaves if available.

Suam na Mais over rice steamed rice on a white plate

How to Serve Filipino Fresh Corn Soup

This creamy corn and vegetable soup is delicious and filling and can be enjoyed on its own. It also makes a great side dish with steamed rice and your favorite fried fish or grilled meat.

Store leftovers in airtight containers and refrigerate for up to 3 days. Add water or broth to loosen consistency and reheat in a saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until completely heated through.  Adjust seasonings with salt and pepper as needed.

Looking for more classic Kapampangan dishes? Try this batsui soup made with pork and macaroni!

Suam na Mais in a white bowl with plate of rice on the side
Print Recipe Leave a Comment
0 from 0 votes

Suam na Mais

Filipino-style Corn Soup made with fresh white corn kernels, shrimp, and spinach leaves. This suam na mais is creamy, flavorful and nutritious!
Prep Time15 mins
Cook Time30 mins
Total Time45 mins
Course: Main Entree, Soup
Cuisine: Filipino
Keyword: Filipino fresh corn soup, suam
Servings: 4 Servings
Calories: 210kcal
Author: Lalaine Manalo

Ingredients

  • 4 native white corn (glutinous)
  • 1 tablespoon canola oil
  • 1 small onion, peeled and sliced thinly
  • 2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
  • 1/2 pound small shrimp, peeled and deveined
  • 1 tablespoon shrimp paste
  • 6 cups water
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 1 bunch spinach, stems trimmed
US Customary - Metric

Instructions

  • Shuck the corn cobs by removing the husks and silks. Using a sharp knife, cut the stem ends.
  • In a large bowl, stand an ear of corn up and using a small knife, thinly cut the kernels off from top to bottom. Rotate the corn when done with each section to get to the next.
  • In a small bowl, scrape the sides of the cobs using a spoon to extract the remaining pulp and milky juice.
  • In a pot over medium heat, heat oil. Add onions and garlic and cook until softened.
  • Add shrimp and cook, stirring occasionally, just until color changes.
  • Add shrimp paste and continue to cook for about 1 to 2 minutes or until lightly browned.
  • Add the cut corn and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 2 to 3 minutes or until corn turns translucent.
  • Add water and bring to a boil, skimming scum that floats on top.
  • Lower heat, cover, and simmer for about 7 to 10 minutes or until kernels are tender.
  • Add scraped corn pulp and juice and stir to distribute. Continue to simmer for about 3 to 5 minutes until soup thickens.
  • Season with salt and pepper to taste.
  • Add spinach, pushing down the leaves into the broth. Turn off heat, cover, and allow the residual heat to cook the spinach just until wilted. Serve hot.

Notes

  • For a creamy texture, use glutinous white corn or lagkitan. If unavailable, thicken the broth with cornstarch slurry (dissolve 1 tablespoon cornstarch in 1/4 cup water)
  • Chili leaves, ampalaya leaves or malunggay (moringa) leaves can be used in place of spinach.

Nutrition

Calories: 210kcal | Carbohydrates: 23g | Protein: 20g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 186mg | Sodium: 673mg | Potassium: 803mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 7g | Vitamin A: 8139IU | Vitamin C: 35mg | Calcium: 202mg | Iron: 4mg
Tried this recipe? I'd love to see what you made!mention @Kawalingpinoy and hashtag your photo with #kawalingpinoy

 

More Good Food

Miswa at Patola Soup
Pineapple Fried Rice
Lumpia Shanghai
Ginisang Sardinas at Miswa

Filed Under: Fruits and Vegetables, Soups and Salads Tagged With: chicken, corn, spinach

<< Cheese Cupcakes
Bagis >>
Lalaine from Kawaling Pinoy

Hello! My name is Lalaine and welcome to Kawaling Pinoy where you’ll find Filipino and Asian-inspired recipes, cooking tips, and how-to videos. Read more...

Subscribe

Thank you! You have successfully subscribed to our newsletter.

Subscribe

Get updates via email and a FREE eCookbook!

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Shiella Grace Lapid says

    September 22, 2019 at 10:59 pm

    thanks for the recipe… I am sure that my kids will love this ” mais dish “…

    Reply
    • Lalaine Manalo says

      November 27, 2019 at 4:28 am

      Hi Shiella, did you kids like it? 🙂

      Reply
  2. Asma says

    January 4, 2019 at 2:16 pm

    I can use any kind of corn because I remembered my mother when she cook this she used white corn…but I don’t have here white corn only the yellow corn I can use that..and also I can put shrimp instead of chicken or meat?

    Reply
    • Lalaine Manalo says

      November 30, 2019 at 7:29 am

      The white glutinous corn is preferred but you can use yellow corn if the white variety is not available. You can just thicken the broth with cornstarch slurry. 🙂

      Reply
  3. Natty says

    July 29, 2018 at 5:02 pm

    I tried this tonight for dinner, substituted the leaves with ampalaya (bitter Mellon) leaves from my backyard garden. Wow, so good. Thank you.

    Reply
    • Lalaine says

      July 29, 2018 at 11:22 pm

      Thanks for the feedback, Natty! I am glad you enjoyed it. I can just imagine how good it tastes with fresh produce straight from the garden 🙂

      Reply
  4. Mylles says

    June 21, 2018 at 3:23 am

    I tried it and replaced spinach to malunggay leaves instead, definitely good!! This is the recipe what i’ve been looking since i was in the US..

    Reply
    • Lalaine says

      June 25, 2018 at 2:12 am

      I am glad you liked it 🙂

      Reply
    • lhei330 says

      July 29, 2019 at 1:07 pm

      Hi Lalaine,

      can’t find native white corn in my place, can I use sweet corn instead? And is it okay to blend the corn rather than grate tnem?

      Reply
      • Lalaine Manalo says

        November 30, 2019 at 7:28 am

        Yes, you can use sweet corn and blend them to help thicken the soup. Or you can use cornstarch slurry. 🙂

        Reply
  5. Lovely says

    June 14, 2018 at 9:58 pm

    I will try this tomorrow. Thankyou.

    Reply
    • Lalaine says

      June 17, 2018 at 2:27 am

      Enjoy!

      Reply
  6. Monica Capuchino says

    April 23, 2018 at 4:07 pm

    Can you use regular corn from a can or frozen corn?

    Reply
    • Lalaine says

      April 23, 2018 at 10:20 pm

      Hello Monica,

      The corn kernels from the can are actually different from the fresh “native” corn used in suam na mais as they are sweeter in taste. I suppose you can use them in a pinch but please note that the consistency and flavor will not be the same.

      Reply
  7. madelaine says

    August 5, 2015 at 10:02 am

    I will try this but will substitute with shrimp. Thanks for sharing.

    Reply
    • Lalaine says

      August 10, 2015 at 6:45 pm

      What a delicious idea! Will try that next time. Thanks for the tip 🙂

      Reply
  8. Cathy says

    July 29, 2015 at 5:26 pm

    thanks for this recipe! I tried this tonight but changed it a bit, doubling the amount of corn and eliminating the chicken. it was very good! 🙂

    Reply
    • Lalaine says

      August 2, 2015 at 12:39 am

      Thanks for the feedback, Cathy 🙂

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Popular Recipes

  • serving chicken macaroni salad with a large spoon Filipino-style Macaroni Salad
  • Tinolang Manok (Chicken Tinola) Tinolang Manok (Chicken Tinola)
  • Buko Pandan Salad in small glass serving bowls Buko Pandan Salad
  • Ube Crinkles flavored with purple yam Ube Crinkles (Purple Yam Crinkles)

Never Miss a Recipe!

Thank you! You have successfully subscribed to our newsletter.

Never Miss a Recipe!

Get updates via email and a FREE eCookbook

Footer

↑ BACK TO TOP | HOME | CONTACT | PRIVACY POLICY | Copyright © 2019 Kawaling Pinoy, LLC

MENU
  • Home
  • Recipes
  • About
  • Contact