The perfect snack, crispy corn fritters loaded with juicy sweet corn and sprinkled with green onions. Best eaten piping hot while going ‘hashashafashah’ while trying to cool it in your mouth.
You know the drill, my mom would make this for me growing up, favorite snack during childhood, lot of memories etc etc. For real though, I go through a whole batch in one sitting when I make these. I love using fresh corn, but canned/frozen works just as well. Just keep in mind the starch from fresh corn will affect the outcome (read next paragraph) while frozen/canned probably won’t.
Rice flour is what makes bakwan jagung so crispy, which is also used in tempura batters. When I made this batch though, I only used all-purpose and whole wheat flour and they were still super crispy. I think this is because I used fresh corn cut right off the cob. The excess starch from the cut ends and being crushed when mixing helped to crisp it up. Use whatever flour you have on hand, if you don’t have rice flour but really want it crispy, try putting a few tablespoons of corn starch in.
The thing about this recipe is you don’t want a lot of batter. The star of the show is the corn, we just need the batter to get everything to stick together. It’s not a soup. You’ll need to use your judgement on your corn-batter ratio depending on how much corn you use. The batter should be thick enough to coat all the kernels, but still relatively thin and runny. Let’s say, a little bit thinner than heavy cream. All the kernels should be visible, not floating in the batter.
Something that confused me about the name bakwan jagung (jagung meaning corn) is that bakwan means ‘meatball’ (肉丸 in Madarin). In Indonesia, when we actually refer to meatballs we call it bakso. We call fried vegetables in batter bakwan. My mom told me it’s because low-income families can’t afford to buy meat so they substitute with veggies instead. Seems that many popular dishes we see today were necessity-born in this way. Maybe it’s just easier to call it perkedel jagung. Anyway, let’s head to the recipe.
Indonesian Bakwan Jagung (Corn Fritters)
Ingredients
- 350 g corn preferably fresh
- 100 g all purpose flour* (bit under 1 cup)
- 80 g whole wheat flour or rice flour/tapioca flour/potato flour (2/3 cup and one tablespoon)
- 250 ml cold water (bit more than 1 cup)
- 2~3 large shallots finely chopped
- 2~3 stalks green onions chopped
- 1 bunch celery leaves chopped (I didn't include but it's common to put and adds a nice flavor), optional
- white pepper to taste, please use your judgement, around half of what you put for salt
- salt to taste
- oil for frying as needed
Sauce
- 4 tbsp soy sauce these measurements are eyeballed
- 2 tbsp maple syrup please adjust to taste
- 1 tbsp rice vinegar
- few drops of sesame oil
- juice of a lime wedge
Instructions
- If using fresh corn, separate from the cob with a sharp knife. You can optionally mash a portion of the corn with a mortar and pestle to get some of that starch out, but if you don't have one/don't want to, no worries.
- Add everything together in a bowl, mix til smooth. The consistency of the batter should be runny but still able to coat all the kernels and not sink to the bottom. Don't over stir, just enough that everything is incorporated and no more dry spots remain. Remember to scrape the bottom and the sides! If you think the batter is too thick or too runny, feel free to adjust flour/water levels spoon by spoon.
- Heat up oil on medium heat in a large frying pan enough to generously coat the whole bottom. Once hot (you can check by dropping a bit of the batter and seeing if it bubbles and sizzles), scoop a ladleful of batter into the pan. You want a nice thin layer to get maximum crispiness.
- Optionally you can do a test run with one fritter to see if it is seasoned and crispy enough and adjust accordingly. Once you're satisfied, fry the rest of the batter in batches and make sure they have enough space apart. Flip when one side is golden brown. Make sure the heat doesn't get too hot – my stove runs super hot even on medium heat so I have to constantly adjust. If your fritters look like they're burning too fast, turn it down a bit.
- Enjoy! Serve with ketchup, sweet chili sauce, or a sauce that i used with the ingredients combined above.
