Recipe: Perkedel Jagung – Indonesian Corn Fritters

Perkedel jagung (Indonesian corn fritters), is a popular snack made from mashed corn shaped into small patties. The fritters are usually deep-fried until they are crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. One of the great things about perkedel jagung is that they are very easy to make, plus you will most likely have many of the ingredients in your pantry already.

Perkedel jagung can be enjoyed on their own as a snack, or they can be served as a side dish with a main meal. The fritters are often served with rice and other Indonesian dishes like nasi goreng (fried rice) or sate (grilled meat skewers). You will also find perkedel jagung as part of a nasi campur Bali meal. In addition to being delicious, perkedel jagung is a very affordable snack with inexpensive, widely available ingredients, and you can adjust the spiciness after your liking. It’s a great snack or side dish to bring along for your next potluck or as lunch or dinner, served with rice or a nice salad.

This recipe is from Mama Bu Made, who runs a small restaurant, Warung Bali Bu Ade, in the heart of beautiful Ubud in Bali. After eating at the restaurant for days in a row, I asked Mama Bu Made if I could come and cook with her, and she invited me to stop by at 4am(!) in the morning to watch how she prepares the food for the restaurant. She also shared 3 delicious recipes with me, and this one is the first one out.

Notes:

My translation of Perkedel Jagung is corn fritters, but the perkedel jagung in this recipe are actually more like little dumplings or meatless meatballs, slightly similar to Danish frikadeller, but made with corn instead of pork.

Corn: You can use canned corn instead of fresh corn, but it is best to use fresh corn. Canned corn is cooked and sometimes has added salt, and the flavor of the fritters will be slightly different, compared to using fresh corn straight off the cob. Don’t overdo the food processor pulsing. You would want the batter to have a mixture of chopped corn and whole kernels. If in doubt, you can chop half of the corn in the food processor and mix with the other half of kernels afterwards. After pulsing the batter in the food processor, let it rest for 10 minutes, so the flavor has time to come out fully.

Turmeric: If you can’t find fresh turmeric, you can use turmeric powder instead. If you are using powder, ⅓ teaspoon is enough.

Oil: Use your choice of cooking oil, but it has to be a type of oil meant for frying (i.e. an oil with a high smoking point), so don’t use olive oil. Peanut oil, canola oil or other types of vegetable oil are great. Use plenty of oil for frying. The corn fritters should be able to float around freely without touching the bottom of the pot or the pan.

Chilis: The chilis used in this recipe, is a non-spicy variant from Bali, but any non-spicy, medium-sized chili would do.

Chinese celery/leaf celery: If you can’t find Chinese celery/Leaf celery, you can use a bit of chives instead but use a little less as it has a stronger flavor.

The corn fritters are ready when they are golden brown and slightly crispy on the outside, and with a soft, bouncy texture on the inside. If the better is too runny, and the fritters are very soft inside, even after a few minutes of frying, try adding a little more flour to the batter.

Delicious served with Jalapeño & Lime Jam from Blake Hill or any of the hot sauces from Karma Sauce:

Recipe: Perkedel Jagung – Indonesian Corn Fritters

Recipe by Recipe by Mama Bu Made – Ubud, Bali Course: Snacks, street food, Sides

Servings

fritters

Ingredients

1 ½ cups 1 ½ corn (approximately 2 cobs)
4 cloves 4 garlic, chopped
3 3 small shallots, chopped (~ ⅓ cup)
1.5″ fresh turmeric (~ 1.5 tablespoons grated or finely chopped) or ⅓ teaspoon turmeric powder.
2 tablespoons 2 1.5″ fresh ginger (~ 1.5 tablespoons grated or finely chopped)
2 2 medium-sized chilis (mild, not spicy)
4-5 tablespoons 4-5 all-purpose flour
1 1 egg
2 tablespoons 2 chicken stock powder
1 teaspoon 1 salt
2 tablespoons 2 chopped Chinese celery leaves
2-3 cups 2-3 cooking oil

Directions

Slice the corn off the cob.
Chop garlic and shallots. Chop turmeric, ginger and chili.
Place corn, ginger, turmeric, chili, garlic and shallots in a food processor and pulse 3-4 times so some of the corn gets chopped. This will bring out the flavor and moisture of the corn. Let the batter rest for 10 minutes to bring out the flavor from the corn.
Add flour, egg, salt and chicken stock powder and mix. Add Chinese celery and more flour if needed.
Heat the oil in a deep pan or pot. Scoop up one tablespoon of batter at a time, and place it carefully in the oil. You don’t want to make a splash. You can fit 6-8 fritters at a time, depending on what type of pan or pot you are using.
Fry the corn fritters for about a minute. If it takes longer, the oil is probably not hot enough, and if it takes shorter, and the fritters are brown on the outside, but not thoroughly cooked inside, the oil might be too hot.
Serve with your choice of dipping sauce. You can use any sauce you like, but I think the fritters go particularly well with sweet or spicy chili sauce.