When I was young, whenever we went to a northern Chinese restaurant, besides ordering typical northern Chinese foods such as dumplings, braised pork bones 酱大骨, bao zi, the parents always ordered one of these two very traditional (almost rare nowadays) dessert to wrap up the meal: 雪衣豆沙 (direct translation: red bean wrapped in coat made with snow, which is fried red bean paste wrapped in whisked egg whites), or crispy corn pancake 玉米烙. Both are sprinkled with sugar on top, which is like snow, abundant in north eastern China during winter time.
I made a crispy corn pancake for a potluck and seemed like everyone like it! Even my friend who is expert at making Southern Corn Cake said, this is a different type but delicious corn cake!
QUICK TAKEAWAYS
- Coat the corn with corn starch and little water will help form corns into unity pancake; if the corns are not sticking together, can use starch water to help glue them together
- Fry corn pancake at medium/low temperature for a longer time can make it crispy. Using high temperature can burn one side very quickly while difficult to flip and cook the other side because the corn cake is very fragile
RECIPE
- 1 cup of sweet corn
- 2-3tbsp corn starch
- 1-2tbsp water
- a pinch of salt
- sugar
- sesame (optional)
- hot oil
STEP 1: coat sweet corn with a pinch of salt, 1-2tbsp water, 2-3tbsp corn starch (I also mix in some Korean frying mix or Korean seafood pancake mix which give the crispy texture), 1tbsp sugar. Make sure all corns are covered in starch coat
STEP 2: heat up oil till smoke arises, then pour out 1/2 hot oil in a container
STEP 3: adjust the stove to medium low – medium heat. Carefully, pour the corn into hot oil in pan and quickly flatten them with a spoon/folk;
STEP 4: pour back the 1/2 hot oil from Step 2, these oil is to cook the top half of the corn crisp cake as we will NOT flip the fragile corn cake
STEP 5: fry corn cake for 5-10mins. If the corns are not forming a “pancake unity”, mix 1-2tsp corn starch with water, sprinkle on different spots of corn cake which will help glue the corn cake together
STEP 6: sprinkle sesame on top in the last few minute and then remove corn cake from pan, make put on top of paper towel or oil absorbent paper to remove excessive oil
STEP 7: sprinkle sugar on top!
READY TO SERVE!
