If you’ve been to Thailand or eaten at Simply Asia you would know about these little sweet corn cakes. They are often served as street food or as a starter at Simply Asia with a sweet chilli dipping sauce. Our South African version of a sweetcorn fritter is delicious but dare I say a bit heavy. Once you make these light, crunchy and fluffy versions I would be willing to bet you would not go back! They are made with fresh corn which I think makes all the difference.

Ingredients:

• 4 ears of corn
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup tempura flour
• 1 egg
• handful of basil leaves, chiffonade
• oil for frying

Method:

1. Cut the corn off each cob and divide into two equal parts.
2. Blend half of the corn with 1 egg and add to the other half of cut up corn.
3. Add the salt, basil (thin strips), tempura flour and mix quickly.
4. Drop spoonfuls of mixture into hot oil. When the one side has browned lightly turn it over.
5. Drain on a metal cooling rack with a piece of paper towel underneath (See below for more tips and tricks).

Tips:

If you would like to make this in advance, cut the corn and leave it aside. Do not blend the mixture before hand or it will get watery. Once you have mixed the tempura flour into the mixture do not waste time – the oil should be ready to go before you mix the flour in. Do not let the mixture stand for too long.

I used a tablespoon for each drop, and used a teaspoon to scrape it off into the oil. Draining the sweetcorn fritters on a wire rack (baking rack) maintains the crispness and crunchiness. If you drain straight onto a paper towel they will go soft. This is a great method if you want to serve them a bit later but maintains the texture.