Cheese corn nachos
and other corny favorites
Choy Love Club is the paid subscriber area of To Vegetables, With Love…Everyone (free and paid) will see a preview of this newsletter but only paid subscribers will see the recipes. As always, thank you for being here. Bring on the corn…
When I think about the corn of my childhood, it usually came from a can, and triumphantly so. My mother stockpiled canned food when it was on sale, and creamed corn (known as cream style sweet corn in the United States) was collected in abundance. The golden pulpy puree, sweet and milky, was used to make two staple dishes: frequently, egg drop sweetcorn soup, and occasionally, sook mei fan, or creamed corn with rice, where a luscious, silky corn sauce, sometimes combined with stir-fried chicken or beef, is draped over steamed rice.
If we ever ate fresh corn, they were always of peak ripeness, enlarged ears, studded with swollen kernels, smuggled home from the markets by my father. The boiled corn on the cob, licked with margarine if we were lucky, was usually served with my mother’s once-per-month say chaan, a Cantonese term for a western style meal, usually comprised of very well-done T-bone steak, with a side of vegetables.
Corn is remarkable in its low key, everyday appeal. Perhaps their modesty allows them to pass under the culinary radar, quietly powering meals without ever demanding high attention. Though in truth, there are few vegetables as assertive as corn in flavour, the presence of it in meals is authoritative. One only has to taste sweetcorn potato chips to realize how unmistakable the flavor of corn is.
Lean into corn, that is my mantra. Its sweetness is always slightly surprising to me. It begs me to lure it back to the savory side.
There is no corn chapter in Tenderheart. That wasn’t a snub, I assure you. Corn is well loved in my kitchen. In fact, there was an underground Tenderheart CORN chapter which I shared as a bonus for people who pre-ordered my book. I’ve shared one of the recipes from that bonus chapter here, plus a list of my corn greatest hits, AND a brand new recipe.
First some corny fun facts:
The silk of sweet corn is actually the stigma (the female part). There is one strand of silk per grain of corn.
An ear of corn always has an even number of rows.
There are about 800 kernels on each ear of corn.
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This week
Cook corn…or zucchini. This zucchini tofu udon uses fermented tofu for a tangy umami hit. Fermented tofu is made by fermenting soybean curds in a brine of rice wine, water, salt and spices. It has a pungent flavor on its own, but that’s okay because you don’t eat it alone (well, I do, but you’re not me so read on!) and when it is used to stir-fry noodles (or greens, as it is commonly employed in Chinese cooking), its sharpness softens, and you’re left with bold savoriness. You can purchase at Asian grocery stores or online such as here (my fave brand) or here. In Australia, purchase here. You could also substitute with miso.
Eat gado gado. I made this last week, and it felt like such a joyous summer dish. I used the recipe in Tenderheart, charring up some purple cauliflower - which to me, is less tasty and sweet than regular white variety - and served with boiled potatoes, fried tofu, blanched snow peas, cucumbers, and a sweet peanut sauce which I made using dregs from a jar of peanut butter. Yes, I was making fun of the social media trend where everyone is using their jam/mustard/mayonnaise/vinegar/etc remnants to make salad dressings, but unsurprisingly, the bottom of the peanut butter jar makes quite a terrific quick peanut sauce. In line with my peanut sauce in Tenderheart, I added kecap manis (sweet soy sauce), garlic, salt chili flakes and used just-boiled water to melt the peanut butter and help emulsification. It was not as thick as the cooked sauce, but it thickens up upon sitting. See my reel here. I also have a gado gado recipe on NYT Cooking.
Read The Guest, an easy summer read. I am usually a slow, contemplative reader, but I powered through this in about 6 days.
Corn again
If you’re loving corn right now, here a few of my recipes from the internet to add to your repertoire:
Soy-butter Corn Ramen - NYT COOKING (gift link)
Corn Salad With Mango and Halloumi - NYT COOKING (paywalled)
Corn and Celery Stir-fry - NYT COOKING (paywalled)
Sook Mei Faan (Cantonese Creamed Corn With Tofu and Rice) - NYT COOKING (paywalled)
One Pot Miso Corn Pasta - ABC EVERYDAY (free link)
Tofu and Egg Drop Sweetcorn Soup - ABC EVERYDAY (free link)
Roasted Potatoes with Silky Corn Sauce - THE WASHINGTON POST (gift link)
This months recipes
Cheese corn nachos
© Hetty Lui McKinnon for To Vegetables, With Love