Spicy Corn Fritters

June 11, 2010 — droolfactor

I don’t know how on earth full-time working mothers manage without help. I only have to feed my hubby and myself and as it is, I often find that I need to prep and plan ahead otherwise we end up eating out, or worse yet eating junk. I have to remember to defrost food before I head off to work, or check that the vegetables are still in good condition. In cases when there’s no food defrosting, or if the salad pack is sitting in its own icky juices (yuk!), a back-up plan is required. This is when canned food comes in very handy.

I saw this recipe for spicy corn fritters awhile back and thought it’d be nice to try it out one day. In anticipation (and planning ahead, thank you), I had three cans of sweet corn sitting in my pantry waiting, waiting, waiting. Finally, last night was corn fritter night. Mainly because I didn’t have food defrosting and my crisper was sad and empty.

Now I highly recommend this fritter recipe. It’s simple to follow and the results were yumtastic! The fritters were crisp (well, some of the suffered because I took a while to take photos) and full of plump sweet corn. The subtle flavours of coriander and cumin came across beautifully and my own added pinch of hot chilli flakes to the batter gave that extra zing.

The dipping sauce was a great side-kick to the dish too! You could possibly use bottled stuff, but I reckon the sauce completed the dish. It was vinegary, sweet and spicy and I couldn’t stop dipping extra french salad leaves in them after I had finished my fritters.  It’s like an extra punchy sweet and sour sauce. Very more-ish, very delish. Highly recommended – this recipe’s definitely a keeper!

SPICY CORN FRITTERS
From Simply Recipes

Dipping Sauce

• 3/4 cup rice vinegar
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons red chili pepper flakes
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 large clove garlic, minced

Fritters

• 1 cup flour
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 cups of corn kernels, (see steps for cutting corn from a cob) cut from 3 large cobs (or frozen corn, defrost and drain first)
• 4 large scallions or green onions, finely sliced (about half a cup)
• 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
• Grapeseed, canola, or peanut oil (a high smoke point oil) for frying

METHOD

 

Make the dipping sauce by combining all of the sauce ingredients into a small saucepan. Cook on medium heat, stirring with a wooden spoon, until sugar dissolves. Increase the heat to medium high, let boil for 5-10 minutes or so, until the mixture becomes somewhat syrupy. Remove from heat and let cool. The sauce should continue to thicken as it cools. If it becomes too thick, you can add a little water to it to thin it out a bit.