Corn Fritters

Indonesians enjoy their main meals (lunch and dinner) a la rijsttafel (derived from Dutch word, meaning “rice table”). The meals consist of many, many side dishes accompanying the main course steamed rice. The side dishes are small portions of vegetables cooked in variety of ways, meat dishes, poultry dishes, soups, colorful of chili dips and seafood dishes. Some of the cheaper rijsttafel menu would include fried eggs and savory fritters. Rijsttafel style of dining is now found in most of Indonesian restaurants serving traditional food, the bigger the establishment is, the more small plates are served. For me, I really can’t really enjoy it with company less than 5. It is a bit sad to go to rijsttafel dining with only two people, and all those food go to waste (although you don’t need to pay if you don’t touch them).

In simpler eateries places, the rijsttafel would have about 10 small dishes spread in front of you. This tradition also runs in the many households, where there would be 4 or 5 dishes prepared and served with rice. There would always be some kind of deep-fried fritters.

Another savory fritters that have always been our favorite (and can be easily found in rijsttafel-style restaurants) is made from corn (corn fritters – perkedel jagung). The corn used is fresh corn cobs, half grated finely and half of whole kernels. Whole kernels provide great crunchy textures on the fritters later on. The other half that is grated will produce a pulp that has tons of flavor and helps produce a smooth texture. The one ingredients that really make the difference is chopped kaffir lime leaves. They give the fritter some lemony flavor to it. Otherwise, the fritters would be quite bland.

Ingredients

For spice paste
3 candlenuts (10 gr), toasted
2 cloves garlic
2 shallots
pinch of white pepper and salt

Shredded / chopped finely
4 kaffir lime leaves
4 stalks spring onion
1 chinese celery

3 (800 gr) medium-sized corn cobs
1 egg
1/4 cup flour
1 tablespoon tapioca starch

Instructions

Grind spices in a grinder till resembles fine paste. Remove the blade of the kaffir lime leaves before chopping (see Step by Step Shots)

Remove the corn kernels from one cob by standing the corn on its end and slicing down using a sharp knife. You will end up with strips of corn that can easily be separated with your fingers. Put all the kernels in a mixing bowl and set aside

Grate the other two cobs by using the medium holes of a box grater to take off the majority of the corn. Do this over a bowl so you don’t loose any of the pulp and juices. If there is any remaining corn on the cob, scrape it off with the back of a knife

Using a coarse strainer, pour the pulp and slightly drain the corn juice (optional, this will help fasten frying time)

Mix the pulp into the mixing bowl with the kernels. Add the ground spices and chopped ingredients, as well as the flour, egg and starch. Mix well with a wooden spoon (or roll up your sleeves and get dirty with your hands)

Heat up cooking oil in a wok / deep fryer. Drop 1/4 cup of batter into hot oil. Fry for 2 – 3 minutes each side. Drain on paper towel

Serve warm with dipping sauce with other dishes with steamed rice or enjoy as afternoon snacks

Cook’s note

Fresh corn can be substituted with one can of corn kernels and one can of corn pulp.

Deep-frying methods can be substituted with pan frying. Heat a couple of tablespoons of cooking oil in a non-stick pan and drop the batter on the pan. Cook for 4 minutes each side or until they are brown enough. Just as good, but healthier and more economical!

Step by step shots

Tagged as: corn, corn fritters, deep fry, kaffir lime leaves, rijsttafel, snacks