One of my favorite Indonesian side dishes is corn cakes. They come in a lot of different types, since it seems almost every regional cuisine has some kind of them. I found this recipe in a small book of Indonesian favorites. It calls for peanuts, which I’m not sure I’ve had before. If you’re allergic, just leave them out.
Nutty Corn Cakes with dabu-dabu sambal
Ingredients
| Corn | 285 g (1 can) | |
| Roasted Peanuts | ½ c | |
| Green Onions | 3 Stalks | chopped |
| Red Sweet Pepper | ½ | finely diced |
| Fresh Ginger | 2 t | grated |
| Garlic | 1 clove | crushed |
| Ground Cumin | 1 t | |
| Egg | 1 | lightly beaten |
| Rice Flour | 2 T | |
| Vegetable Oil | ½ c |
Preparation Method
- Place half the corn, the peanuts, spring onions, ginger, garlic and cumin in a food processor. Mix until finely chopped and a bit mushy.
- Transfer the mixture to a bowl and mix in the egg, rice flour, red peppers and the rest of the corn.
- Head the vegetable oil in a skillet. Once hot, form the corn mixture into patties and fry both sides until golden brown. I had a bit of trouble with this until I hit on the idea of using an egg ring to hold the patties together until they were cooked well enough.
Serve with dabu-dabu or some other spicy sauce.
