Monday 8 April 2013

Corn and Vegetable Fritters


Last year when I visited my Mak Ee (my Mum's eldest sister), her Indonesian maid served us vegetable fritters for tea. The fritters were freshly prepared and served piping hot and they were so crispy and delicious! We all dug in heartily even though we had just arrived with very full stomachs. If only we had not eaten so much during lunch, we would have polished off the whole lot. Anyway, my Mum requested to "tapau" the leftovers for later :)



My Ee-Ee (who is my Mum's youngest sister and the one who taught me cooking) very eagerly approached the maid for the recipe. My Ee-Ee is a very good interrogator when it comes to asking for recipes. She will hound you until you give it to her hah! hah! The maid was very forthcoming but due to the language barrier, we did not quite get the whole thing.


Anyway, I searched for the recipe on the internet and found my friend K. Nor's recipe for Cucur Jagung (Corn Fritters). I also checked many other related recipes including MaDiHaA's recipe for Cucur Udang Ranggup (Crispy Prawn Fritters). So I decided to combine these two Mek Terengganu's recipes and come up with my version of Corn Fritters.



In my first attempt, I added prawns with the corn and other vegetables but I did not add any seasoning except for salt and pepper. And since this was my first time, my batter was a bit too thick which resulted in fritters that were crispy but heavy (hard). Also because there was no added seasoning like chicken stock or all purpose seasoning, the taste was a bit flat. But all in all I was satisfied and enjoyed the fritters very much.



I loved the fritters so much that I decided to make another batch the next day. So it is no wonder that it is very hard for me to stay slim. But at this point, I don't care. This time I decided to make it all vegetables and I added an all purpose seasoning. I also made sure that my batter was not too thick. 



The batter must also not be too runny or else it will break up when it hits the hot oil. It must be viscous enough to hold the ingredients together but at the same time it must not be so thick as to make the fritters hard. As a guide, your batter must be thick but it must still be able to flow when you tilt your mixing bowl. If it is too thick, it won't move. Get it?



My second batch of fritters were much better than the first. But I think chicken stock or ikan bilis stock will make for a better tasting seasoning. I guess you can even put spices or curry powder to make it even more exciting. Check out Joyce's Cauliflower and Cumin Fritters to get more ideas.



These corn fritters must be served hot/warm while they are crispy. However, should you have leftovers that have gone soft, simply reheat in the oven at 180C for 12-15 minutes, turning at half time. They will crisp up again and taste even better. Serve with your favorite chilli sauce. This is great as a snack for family and friends especially at gatherings.



The recipe below is just a rough guide, just put in as much or as little ingredients as you like. You can just estimate the flour and pour the water a little at a time and adjust as you go along.










Corn and Vegetable  Fritters
Recipe source : Adapted from Secubit Garam and Dari Dapur MaDiHaA

Ingredients :
- 1 cup fresh corn kernels
- 1 red chilli, finely minced
- 1/2 cup long beans, thinly sliced
- 1/2 cup grated carrots
- 1/4 cup spring onions, thinly sliced
- 1/4 cup chives (kuchai), thinly sliced
- 1/4 cup corriander, finely chopped
- 1/2 cup prawns, diced (optional)
- 1 big onion finely minced
- 1 whole egg
- 1 tablespoon seasoning or to taste (chicken/ikan bilis stock or all purpose seasoning)
- pepper to taste
- 1.5 cups self-raising flour (so that I need not add baking powder)
- Water

Method :
- Put everything except water into a mixing bowl.
- Stir the ingredients to mix and add water bit by bit to form a batter.
- Heat oil in wok or deep frying pan.
- When oil is hot, use a tablespoon to drop the batter into the hot oil and fry till golden brown.
- You can fry a few fritters at a time but don't overcrowd the pan
- Drain on paper towels and serve hot with your favourite dip.

Notes :
1. Batter must not be too thick or too runny. Should be thick enough but can still flow when you tilt your mixing bowl.
2. If you have leftover fritters, you can heat them up in the oven at 180C for 15-20 minutes, turning at half time. They will crisp up again.
3. The above recipe yielded me about 12 fritters.





This post is linked to the event, Little Thumbs Up organised by Zoe of Bake for Happy Kids and Doreen of My Little Favourite DIY and hosted by Esther of Copycake Kitchen.

75 comments:

  1. good monin to u,,looking at your fritter make me
    hungry for breadfast,but how to stay slim n sxeie,as u mention, haha,,
    thanks for this recipes,,
    natasho --sg

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    1. Hi Natasha! I won't mind having these fritters for breakfast :)

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  2. they call those 'bakwan jagung' although there is no 'bak' in it. Ask her to make 'bakwan kol' ie cabbage fritters. BTW they will eat this 'bakwan' with cili padi, not cut or wt soya sauce, just a bite of bakwan, and a bite of cili padi (cabai rawit). A taste of 'green' yet refreshing, till the air mata oso can come out... hahaha...

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    1. My God, bite into chili padi? I cannot tahan like that :) I love this with chilli sauce. Will try the cabbage fritters one of these days.

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  3. Looks like a kids favorite! Makes a great appetizer too!

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    1. This is very kiddy friendly. Very versatile, can be appetizer, snack and also lunch or dinner hah! hah!

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  4. These look yum yum dear. nice pics and truly tempting

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    1. They are yum, Swasthi though oily :( Can be indulged once in a while :)

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  5. These corn fritters look so delicious! I would love to have them pipping hot and freshly fried....mouth-watering!

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    1. Mich, it is best straight from the frying pan but don't get burnt :)

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  6. I am craving for some of your beautiful fritters now. I love corn in my fritters but quite scare to fry them. The corn always pop when on me and the oil will spatter everywhere.

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    1. Hah! Hah! Gertrude, I am also scared of splattering oil! But these fritters were ok, not much splattering. You can safely try :)

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  7. Hi Phong Hong, I would really love to make these. Do you think I can bake them rather than deep fry?

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    1. That's interesting, Yen. Maybe can bake in muffin pans? Not sure how it will turn out.

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  8. Hi Phong Hong, very nice fritters, hmm! yummy with chilli sauce. You know where I'll fry these?????

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    1. Hah! Hah! Kimmy, I know you will fry these at your Mum's house!

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  9. thumbs up!......nice nice...like the one my friend made once.

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    1. Thank you! Try lah, very nice to eat panas-panas :)

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  10. Yummy fritters, I want it now .... so how ??? :)

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    1. DG, get frying! These fritters are very easy to do. Just chuck in any vegetables you have and get the chilli sauce ready hee..hee...

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  11. Would wish to have it with some tea Phog :)

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    1. Vimitha, this is great as a tea time snack. Do make some!

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  12. Who can resist this snack for tea? Certainly not me!

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    Replies
    1. Cheah, resistance is futile! Just eat!

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  13. Phong Hong, 2 pieces of cucuk jagung fior me please....very hungry liao!!! Hehe...

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    1. Esther, 2 pieces is not enough! I can eat 6 pieces at one go hah! hah!

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  14. so coincidence , we were making almost the same thing! dip with chili sauce, sedapkan?

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    1. Sonia, very sedap until cannot stop eating!

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  15. Replies
    1. Yes, Francesca! It is crispy and you will want more :)

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  16. this looks so yummy! I wantttttt

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    1. Shu Han, these are quite easy to make and I am sure you can come up with a fabulous version of your own :)

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  17. Hi Phong Hong...I love, love, your crispy, colorful, and totally mouthwatering yummy veggie fritters. Those corn kernels are so vivid, even when fried! What a fabulous way to offer to kids to eat their veggies. These would make awesome appetizers for a party, as well! Superb!xo

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    1. Thank you, Elisabeth! I think kids would love these fritters so we can hide loads of veggies in it!

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  18. Yum yum yum......! We can exchange corn fritters coz I also made them on Sunday! So, 2 from you today, later will give 2 back, ok? Eh, I never put prawns in my corn fritters before coz I normally used chicken. Next time I will also add prawn!

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    1. Jessie, sure can! One big plate for you and one big plate for me :)

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  19. this one i myself can finish the whole plate.
    dear,where are you stay? i am ready to shift house now.....hahahah...

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    1. My friend, no need to shift house, I send to you!

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  20. Hi Phong Hong,
    Your corn fritters looks delicious! We love fritters in our house! My late mom used to make fritters all the time, who cares about waistline back then? Haha! She used to add chopped fresh red chillies in the fritters and we would finish everything! Along with the steaming cups of hot black coffee!
    Thanks for the mention! Have a great week!

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    1. Hi Joyce, these fritters are so much fun. So many variations we can make and I will be sure to add more red chillies (green might be good too!) when I make these again.

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  21. Hi Phong Hong you make me laugh when I read about what you wrote about me .So shy .In I have been wanting to ask you to try mah-mah's corn fritters it's real yummy.I couldn't get it right so had to skye to your mum to ask her .still can't be as nice as her's See your corn fritters can't tahan must cook for dinner.The next time we must go to Mak Ee's house half full tummy.

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    1. Ee-Ee, last weekend I went to Mak Ee's house again and her maid made cucur!! Hah! Hah! I also tapau back home for my dinner hee..hee...

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  22. Hi PH! I love that you added prawns to the fritters. Think Sonia had a similar recipe recently and I was telling her I needed some meat! :D

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    1. Alvin, I think you can also add minced meat into the fritters. Extra yummy!

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  23. I made this once and gosh it was addictive :) Now you are tempting me to make this again :p

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    1. Elin, this is one snack that once you start eating, you just can't stop! Especially when you eat it hot from the pan :)

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  24. Ahhhhhh!!!! My daughter's favourite. Must cook this for her one of these days...to take to her jungle school to eat in the course of the week.

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    1. Does her jungle school have cooking facilities like oven? She will need to heat up the fritters to make it crispy again.

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    2. Can just heat on a non-stick pan, no problem. I do that too with deep-fried kuih and stuff.

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  25. Oh, I love fritters...and yours are so chock full of yummy ingredients! I can't wait till we have fresh sweet corn in season...I will make these :)

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    1. Lizzy, I am sure you and your family will love these fritters! They are really great snacks.

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  26. great party food, making me hungry now lol.

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    1. Jess, can try it one of these days and let me know good or not!

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  27. wah phong hong....as u know i love corn....any this fritters looks so crunchy n yummy....pls parcel some to me

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    1. GK, no problems! Extra jagung for you, ok?

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  28. Ada dua ketul jagung kat dapur Cm.Petang ni boleh lah masak cucur jagung,Pstt Cm dah masak sup jagung resipi PH ,bubuh ayam dan isi ketam..yum yum :)

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    1. CM, wah kalau sup ada isi ketam mesti meletup! Cucur jagung ni bestlah, ranggup dan bila dah ngap tu sampai tak berhenti-henti :)

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  29. Wahhh very clever mix and match! Confirm sedap especially eaten with Thai Sweet Chillie and a mug of hot white coffee. Can I invite myself to your house Phong Hong? Hahahaha... tak malu betul kan!

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    1. MamaFaMi, jemput, jemput! Boleh lah kita makan sambil bersembang :)

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  30. Ah yooi I made corn fritters for dinner eat so much until can't move I also made Indian pakora for a try.not bad it turn out.time to tidor and keep all my dishes from the dishwasher now old lazy to hand wash

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    1. Oh, I must try Indian pakoras one of these days. I also tend to eat until cannot move :)

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  31. hi miss molek, i just saw joyce's corn fritters a while ago too! now i need some corn fritters, chilli sauce and some beer please!!

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  32. Vegetable fritters are one of my favourite things to make and I think I have tried any combination possible. I only use very little oil when I make them though. Yours must be extra crispy!

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    1. Kelly, they were very crispy but oily :(

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  33. Hi Phong Hong,

    I remember eating lots of vegetable fritters when I was living at home with mum and grandma. Now, I'm too lazy to fry them because I will be the only one enjoying them. Too lonely lah :(

    Love your traditional fritters... I'm thinking of the wonderful memories that I used I had them.

    Zoe

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    1. Zoe, besides vege fritters my grandma used to make prawns fritters and we ate them with her homemade chilli sauce. Yes, these fritters do bring back childhood memories.

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  34. Hi Phong Hong, this vege fritters sure look addictive and delicious. Guess hard to stop eating. LOL

    Best regards.

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    1. Amelia, this one not only cannot stop eating, simply can't get enough! I am thinking of making some more this weekend :)

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  35. Phong Hong,
    I love cucur jagung
    This must be super yum yum. . Can eat none stop la:p
    mu

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    1. mui mui, you must try this. Very super yum!

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  36. Wow! These looks so appetizing! I also want some & I think I can makan a dozen of these in one sitting, no problem! LOL

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    1. Kit, you are right. You will eat lots, so be careful hah! hah!

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