Bakwan Jagung (ba-wan-ja-gung) (Indonesian Corn Fritters) is one of my husband’s favorite Indonesian dishes. Bakwan Jagung is a traditional Indonesian dish usually eaten as a snack or served as an entree accompanied with rice. Savory, sweet and salty, it’s a taste that everyone would love!
The key to perfecting this dish is to ensure the fritter is crispy and STAYS crispy for a long time. My husband is a “crispy fanatic” and would really eat anything that’s deep-fried (and crispy). After testing on him multiple times, I’m happy that I’ve finally discovered the deep dark secrets behind a crispy batter. I hope you enjoy this recipe, and my only advice is to make MORE because you’re not going to want to stop at one bite.
Tips on how to get a crispy batter that stays crispy (for hours):
1. Use rice flour.
Rice flour tends to absorb less moisture and fat when deep fried than other flour types.
2. Add melted butter into the batter (ULTIMATE SECRET. Shhh…)
This is the trick that I accidentally stumbled upon when I lazily used leftover buttered corn from the night before to make corn fritters. I haven’t found any other recipes that add fats into a batter to make it crispy, but upon further research, it makes sense! When deep fried, the added fat in the batter goes through a Maillard reaction. It caramelizes the batter on the inside, creating a batter that is crispy both internally and externally.
3. Double-Frying (but follow my shortcut)
Double Frying is a common method many use to get extra crispy batter. All you have to do is to fry batter at medium heat until cooked through. Remove from oil and let it cool. Fry fritters once more at medium-high heat until golden brown.
Shortcut method: Deep fry batter at medium-low heat. When cooked through, increase heat to medium-high and fry until golden brown.
4. Kitchen towel to drain excess oil
The trick to a crispy batter is to ensure it retains as little moisture and fats as possible. Make sure to drain all excess oil with a kitchen towel.
5. Place on a cooling rack
Placing fritters on a cooling rack allows excess moisture and steam to evaporate. If left on a plate, the moisture will create a soggy bottom.
Place onion, garlic and water in a blender. Blend until smooth.
Combine rice flour, sugar and salt in a medium-bowl. Gradually add onion and garlic mixture, and mix until batter is smooth. Add egg and melted unsalted butter into batter. Finally, stir in corn until well incorporated
Pour vegetable oil into a medium pan, until at least 1 inch in depth. Heat pan over medium heat on the stove. When oil is heated, place ¼ cup of batter in the pan for 1 fritter.. Continue to place batter in the pan, ensuring at least 1 inch of space between each fritter. Make sure to lower to medium-low heat, so that batter is cooked through without burning. Flip a couple of times. When the fritter is fully cooked (no white spots), increase to medium heat and fry until dark golden brown.
Remove fritters from the pan and place on top of kitchen paper to absorb excess oil.
Continue to fry until the batter is completely finished.
Serve with ketchup on the side as a dipping sauce. Enjoy!
Ingredients
Directions
Place onion, garlic and water in a blender. Blend until smooth.
Combine rice flour, sugar and salt in a medium-bowl. Gradually add onion and garlic mixture, and mix until batter is smooth. Add egg and melted unsalted butter into batter. Finally, stir in corn until well incorporated
Pour vegetable oil into a medium pan, until at least 1 inch in depth. Heat pan over medium heat on the stove. When oil is heated, place ¼ cup of batter in the pan for 1 fritter.. Continue to place batter in the pan, ensuring at least 1 inch of space between each fritter. Make sure to lower to medium-low heat, so that batter is cooked through without burning. Flip a couple of times. When the fritter is fully cooked (no white spots), increase to medium heat and fry until dark golden brown.
Remove fritters from the pan and place on top of kitchen paper to absorb excess oil.
Continue to fry until the batter is completely finished.
Serve with ketchup on the side as a dipping sauce. Enjoy!
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