Perkedel Jagung: easy and yummy Indonesian sweetcorn fritters

Crunchy on the outside and fluffy on the inside is what these sweetcorn fritters are about. 

Perkedel Jagung aka Bakwan Jagung

Sweetcorn fritters are quite popular in Indonesia. Some people know them as Perkedel Jagung, some others call them Bakwan Jagung. Both refer to fritters made of sweetcorn.

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

And this snack is often made for breaking the fast among other Ramadan recipes too.

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

The reason is that not only this recipe is quite simple, but it also uses fresh raw sweetcorn. So it makes the fritters with the full flavour 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.

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 that you take 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 up to half of it.

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

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

• After you mashed the corn kernels, mix the rest of the ingredients with the corn. 
• Heat the oil on 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 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.

Things To Enjoy With Your Perkedel Jagung

As a side dish, Bakwan Jagung goes along well with literally 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 together with any 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 cuppa tea or coffee if you like. I also make them for picnic or barbecue snacks sometimes.

Another idea is, that you can 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 some other time, 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.

Other Indonesian Snack Recipes

Thank you for checking this Bakwan Jagung recipe. I hope you’re now thinking of making these corn fritters. If you do, please share what you think about it in the comments below so that others can benefit too. 

Before you go, don’t forget to check my other recipes for Indonesian snacks that you may like.

• Cilok: savoury and chewy tapioca dumpling balls.
• Perkedel Tempe: Indonesian Tempeh Fritters.
• Indonesian Mung Beans Fritters: Perkedel Kacang Hijau  

Last but not least, please follow me on Facebook, Instagram and/or Pinterest. To sneak a peek at what’s cooking in my kitchen. 

Take care and all the best.

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4.91 from 10 votes

Indonesian sweetcorn fritters – Perkedel Jagung

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.

Author: Devy Dar

Prep Time15 minutes mins

Cook Time20 minutes mins

Total Time35 minutes mins

Course: Snacks & Starters

Cuisine: Indonesian

Servings: 15

Equipment

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

1x2x3x

Cook ModeKeep your screen on

Ingredients

• ▢ 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

Disclaimer

Nutritional info in this recipe is only estimate using online calculator. You should refer to it as a guide only. Please verify with your own data if you seek an accurate info.