Perkedel Jagung: Easy and Yummy Indonesian Sweetcorn Fritters

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Perkedel Jagung are Indonesian sweetcorn fritters that deliver a crispy, golden crunch in every bite. A staple across Indonesian households, these little fritters punch well above their weight. Side dish, snack, party starter — they do it all.

Perkedel Jagung AKA Bakwan Jagung

Sweetcorn fritters are quite popular in Indonesia. Some people call them Perkedel Jagung; others call them Bakwan Jagung. Both refer to sweetcorn fritters.

They are usually served as a side dish, but people often enjoy them as snacks. 

And this snack is often made to break the fast, among other Ramadan recipes.

The recipe I am sharing with you here may be a bit different from other corn fritter recipes alike.

The reason is that this recipe is not only quite simple but also uses fresh, raw sweetcorn. So it makes the fritters with the full flavor of real sweetcorn. With a bit of crunch on the outside and a fluffy bit on the inside. 

I promise you it’s so easy to make. And it’ll give you yummy sweetcorn fritters that you and your loved ones will enjoy. 

A warning, though, when you do make them, I suggest you hide some of them for yourself before everybody gets their hands on those tasty fritters. Otherwise, there won’t be anything left for you by the time you finish making them.

Why You’ll Love These Sweetcorn Fritters

1. Crispy outside, tender inside. That golden crunch gives way to a soft, sweet corn center — pure texture perfection.
2. Ready in minutes. No lengthy prep, no complicated techniques. Quick, simple, done.
3. Naturally sweet. Fresh sweetcorn brings its own natural sweetness — no sugar needed.
4. Incredibly versatile. Eat them as a snack, a side, or a light meal by piling them onto a plate.
5. Budget-friendly. A handful of pantry staples is all it takes to feed a crowd.
6. Crowd-pleaser. Kids, adults, picky eaters — these fritters win everyone over, every time.
7. A genuine taste of Indonesia. Every bite carries the warmth and soul of a recipe passed down through generations.

What You Need to Make Sweetcorn Fritters

There are only 7 items you need to make the corn fritters. 

1. Sweetcorn kernels from the fresh cobs.
2. Spring onions/ scallions.
3. Garlic. You can either use freshly pounded garlic or garlic powder.
4. Ground pepper, either ground black pepper or white pepper, is good.
5. Eggs.
6. Plain flour/ all-purpose flour.
7. Salt. 

And you will need cooking oil to fry the batter. I usually use sunflower oil, but you are free to choose any neutral oil, such as vegetable oil/ rapeseed oil, or corn oil.

A little note here: please use corn kernels from fresh sweet corn cobs. Don’t use tinned sweetcorn. Because the canned corn is cooked. We want raw sweetcorn.

How to Make Bakwan Jagung

• Unlike some other similar recipes, this one wants you to slightly mash the sweetcorn kernels. Not all of it, though. Just about a third to half of it.

Please don’t skip mashing the kernels. It’s important. Because we want the right sweetcorn flavor and sweetness in our sweetcorn fritters.

The mashed kernels will give more flavor to your corn fritters. Also, the juice from the corn kernels can help bind the mixture, so you won’t need as much flour. Your Perkedel Jagung will have a taste of proper sweetcorn instead of sweetcorn-flavored flour fritters.

• After you mash the corn kernels, mix the remaining ingredients with the corn. 
• Heat the oil in the pan, and deep-fry the sweetcorn fritters one teaspoon at a time. 
• Some of you may not be keen on deep-frying. So you can shallow-fry the corn fritters in a little oil in the frying pan. Just make sure you put the mixture flat on the pan and not too thick.

Things to Enjoy With Your Perkedel Jagung

As a side dish, Bakwan Jagung pairs well with virtually any dish. In our household, we often make them as a companion for Sweet Soy Chicken and veggie stir-fry dishes. 

Other times, we have it with soupy/curry dishes such as Sop Buntut (oxtail soup), Soto Betawi (beef stew), or Soto Ayam (clear chicken soup).

But you can also have the corn fritters as a snack along with your cup of tea or coffee if you like. I also make them for picnics or barbecues sometimes.

Another idea is to make sweetcorn fritters for your party starters. Make them in bulk a few days before the party and then freeze them. 

Storage Matter

Nothing beats the freshly made bakwan jagung. However, if you want to keep some for later, you can refrigerate them for a few days. 

You can also keep them longer in the freezer if you like. They freeze well for about 6 weeks. 

And then, when you want to serve them, you can just pop the sweetcorn fritters in the oven at gas 4/180 ° C for about 15-20 minutes.

Indonesian sweetcorn fritters – Perkedel Jagung

4.91 from 10 votes

Indonesian sweetcorn fritters (Perkedel Jagung) can be one of the yummy snacks to make in the summertime — when sweetcorn becomes abundant. Try this recipe, I promise everyone in your family will love it.

BY: Devy Dar

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Prep : 15 minutes mins

Cook : 20 minutes mins

Total : 35 minutes mins

Servings: 15

Equipment

• Food processor or
• Pestle and mortar
• Mixing bowls.
• Frying pan
• Slotted spoon

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Ingredients

 

1x2x3x

• 2 cups sweetcorn kernels from 2 large fresh sweetcorn cobs.
• 4 stalks scallions/ spring onions finely sliced.
• 1 clove garlic finely chopped.
• 1 teaspoon white pepper powder or black pepper.
• 6 tablespoons plain flour.
• 2 large Eggs lightly beaten.
• 1 green chilli optional, finely chopped.
• 1 teaspoon salt or according to taste.
• cooking oil for frying.

Instructions

• Put the sweetcorn kernels in a food processor and give it a few blitzes until half of it is mashed. 
• If you don't have a food processor, you can mash it using a pestle and mortar or potato masher. Just make sure about half of the kernels break and release their juice.
• Put the slightly mashed kernels in a mixing bowl and add sliced scallions/ spring onions, pepper, garlic, salt, plain flour, eggs, and chilli. Mix well. 
• Ideally, you leave the mixture to rest for at least 10 minutes to let the flavour develop well. Although you will still make tasty fritters even if you cook them straight away.
• Heat the oil in a frying pan or a wok. Gently drop 1 tbsp of sweetcorn batter and make sure it's slightly flattened and not too thick. Deep fry the fritters at medium heat until it's golden.
• Serve and enjoy.

Notes

• Please don’t skip mashing the kernels. It’s important. Because we want proper sweetcorn flavour and sweetness in our fritters.

• If you can not get the fresh sweet corn cobs, you can use the frozen sweetcorn kernels. But please don’t use the tin ones. Because the tin ones are basically cooked, sweetcorn. 
• When you use frozen sweetcorn, leave the kernels to thaw about half an hour before you slightly mash them. Then just follow the recipe method.
• You can substitute fresh chopped garlic with 1 teaspoon garlic powder if you wish.
• You can substitute plain flour with your preferred GF flour.
• You can skip chillies if you don't like spicy food. And if you prefer spicy, you can always add more chillies.
• Some of you may not be keen on deep-frying. So you can shallow-fry the fritters with a little bit of oil on the frying pan. Just make sure you put the mixture flat on the pan and not too thick.
• Although in this recipe I only put 4 stalks of Spring Onions (Scallion), you can always put more. I often put more spring onions. Because I think Sweetcorn and spring onions are a really nice combo.

Nutrition

Serving: 1g | Calories: 137kcal | Carbohydrates: 19g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 5g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 32mg | Sodium: 361mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 2g

Devy Dar

Devy founded So Yummy Recipes and Drizzling Flavor to share her love of food after exploring various cultures and cuisines for more than two decades. Her mission is to help others easily recreate traditional and non-traditional food with readily available ingredients. Her works have been featured in Reader’s Digest, Al Jazeera, MSN, Yahoo, Bon Appétit, and more.