The first time I bit into one of these golden orbs of corn tempura, I was at Matsukawa, one of my favorite traditional Japanese restaurants in Tokyo. Featured within his summer tasting menu, the corn appeared deceptively simple—a lightly crisped, perfect sphere. But biting into it released a burst of juicy sweetness, like hot buttered corn fresh off the cob, minus the toothpicks.
What blew my mind wasn't just the flavor, but the culinary engineering that went into it. Corn kernels are smooth and round, not exactly ideal for sticking together. Even my cheesy corn fritters rely on gravity to stay intact until the cheese forms a crispy lattice. Yet here was a perfect ball of corn, seemingly held together by culinary sorcery.
I couldn't stop wondering how he pulled it off. After several rounds of trial and error at home, I found a method that gets pretty close.
The key is mixing the corn with a touch of mayonnaise, which acts as an edible glue before frying. Adding just a bit of low-gluten cake flour creates a delicate structure around the kernels as they cook. The result is a structurally sound tempura ball that beautifully showcases the crisp, sweet corn.
There's no way that Chef Matsukawa uses mayo in his tempura, but this quick hack transforms peak-season corn into a crispy snack that'll make you look like a tempura wizard!
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Units
Ingredients
- vegetable oil for frying
- 1 ear corn 220 grams corn kernels
- 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
- 32 grams cake flour about 4 tablespoons
- flaky salt to taste
Instructions
- Fill a heavy-bottomed pot with about 1½ inches of vegetable oil and heat it to 340°F (170°C). Prepare a wire rack lined with paper towels.
- Cut the kernels from 1 ear corn into a bowl.
- Add 2 tablespoons mayonnaise and stir thoroughly with a spatula, separating any clumps to ensure the individual kernels are coated.
- Mix in 32 grams cake flour until the batter is sticky and begins to form clumps.
- When you’re ready to fry, lightly oil your hands to prevent sticking. Shape the batter into ping pong ball-sized rounds, then gently lower them into the hot oil.
- Fry the corn tempura, occasionally turning until golden brown and crispy, about 4 minutes.
- Drain the finished tempura on the prepared rack and sprinkle with flaky salt to taste.
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