Keullaem Chaudeo (Clam Chowder)
Clam chowder is a thick American soup that combines clams, diced potatoes, onion, and celery in a milk-based broth thickened with a butter-and-flour roux. Sauteing the onion and celery in butter for three minutes draws out their natural sweetness before the flour goes in. Adding milk gradually while whisking prevents lumps and builds a smooth, creamy consistency. The potatoes simmer for twelve minutes until tender, and the clams are added only in the final three minutes to keep them from turning rubbery. Each spoonful delivers a balance of briny, oceanic depth from the clams and mild richness from the milk base.
Adjust Servings
Instructions
- 1
Dice potato, onion, and celery into small cubes.
- 2
Melt butter and saute onion with celery for 3 minutes.
- 3
Add flour and cook 1 minute, then gradually whisk in milk.
- 4
Add potatoes and simmer over medium heat for 12 minutes until tender.
- 5
Add clams, simmer 3 more minutes, then season with salt and pepper.
- 6
Turn off heat when thickened, rest for 2 minutes, and serve.
As an Amazon Associate, we may earn from qualifying purchases.
Tips
Nutrition (per serving)
Variations
New England Clam Chowder
This New England chowder uses a creamy base with clams, potatoes, and celery. It tastes rich, salty, and distinctly oceanic.
More Recipes

Baked Potato Soup
Baked potato soup replicates the flavor profile of a loaded baked potato in liquid form. Potatoes are first boiled or oven-roasted until soft, then partially mashed and simmered in chicken stock with heavy cream. The base gains depth from onions sweated in butter before the liquid is added. Toppings mirror those of a classic baked potato: crispy bacon bits, shredded cheddar cheese, and finely chopped chives. Leaving some potato chunks intact rather than pureeing everything creates a more interesting texture. The soup thickens as it sits, so reheated portions from the next day tend to be even creamier than the first serving.

Broccoli Cheddar Soup
Broccoli cheddar soup builds a creamy base by cooking onion in butter, forming a flour roux, and gradually whisking in milk and chicken stock before adding broccoli florets. Once the broccoli softens, sharp cheddar cheese is stirred in over low heat - high heat at this stage causes the cheese to seize and separate instead of melting smoothly. The cheddar's intense salty depth takes command of the soup while the broccoli contributes a vegetal freshness that prevents the richness from becoming monotonous. Blending only partially, leaving some florets intact, preserves a textural contrast between the creamy liquid and the tender green pieces. Served in a hollowed bread bowl, the crusty shell soaks up the soup and turns the dish into a complete, satisfying meal.

Chicken Pot Pie
Chicken pot pie fills a butter pie crust with chicken, carrots, potatoes, and peas bound in a creamy roux-based sauce, then bakes until the top turns golden and the filling bubbles. The roux - butter cooked with flour - thickens into a rich sauce when chicken broth and heavy cream are whisked in, coating every piece of filling. Pre-boiling the carrots and potatoes ensures they cook through evenly within the oven time, while peas go in last to keep their color and slight crunch. Brushing the top crust with egg wash produces a glossy, deeply golden surface during baking. After 35 minutes at 200 degrees Celsius, the filling should be visibly bubbling at the edges, and breaking through the flaky crust reveals the thick cream sauce underneath.

Corn Chowder
Corn chowder is an American cream soup built by simmering corn and diced potatoes in chicken stock, then finishing with heavy cream. Cooking bacon until crispy and sauteing onion and garlic in the rendered fat establishes a smoky, savory base. The potatoes cook for fifteen minutes until tender before the corn goes in for five more. Blending only half the soup and stirring it back creates a chowder that is both creamy and chunky, preserving whole corn kernels for texture. The natural sweetness of corn pairs with the richness of cream for a warming, comforting flavor, and crispy bacon bits scattered on top add a salty crunch.

Korean Clam Kalguksu (Hand-Cut Noodles in Clam Broth)
Baekhap kalguksu is a Korean knife-cut noodle soup where the broth comes entirely from hard clams. Purged clams are simmered in water until they open, then removed while the broth is strained through cloth to catch any remaining grit. Thinly sliced daikon radish and Korean zucchini cook in the strained broth for five minutes, adding vegetal sweetness. The hand-cut noodles go in next and boil for six to seven minutes until they turn translucent; starch released from the noodles thickens the broth naturally into a lightly viscous consistency. Once the noodles are cooked, the reserved clam meat returns to the pot and the soup is seasoned with minced garlic and guk-ganjang. Adding onion deepens the broth's sweetness further. Because the base is clam liquor rather than the more common anchovy stock, the soup carries a distinctly marine character that infuses every strand of noodle, setting it apart from other kalguksu variations.

Cheese Arepa (Venezuelan Griddled Cornmeal Cheese Pocket)
Arepas are a cornerstone of Venezuelan and Colombian daily eating, with roots stretching back to pre-Columbian indigenous cultures who ground maize on stone metates. The dough is nothing more than pre-cooked cornmeal (masarepa), water, and salt, shaped by hand into thick discs and cooked on a budare - a flat griddle - until a golden crust forms on both sides while the interior stays soft and slightly doughy. For cheese arepas, queso blanco or mozzarella is either mixed directly into the dough before grilling or stuffed inside after cooking, so the cheese melts into stretchy, salty pockets within the warm corn shell. The corn flavor is clean, toasty, and naturally sweet, with the cheese providing a counterpoint of fat and salt. Street vendors across Caracas and Bogota serve them from dawn through midnight, split open and filled with everything from black beans to shredded beef.