Thai Corn & Herb Fritters (Tod Mun Khao Phot)

Ingredients

• 4 corn cobs, kernels cut off (about 400g), or 400g frozen sweetcorn, defrosted
• 4 spring onions, finely sliced
• 3 coriander roots, or the lower stems, finely chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, crushed
• 2 tbsp chopped fresh coriander leaves
• 2 tbsp chopped fresh Thai basil or mint
• 1/2 tsp ground white pepper
• 1 tbsp light soy sauce
• 1 tsp caster sugar
• 60g rice flour
• 30g cornflour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 100ml cold sparkling water
• 300ml vegetable oil, for frying
• 1/2 cucumber, quartered lengthways and thinly sliced
• 2 shallots, thinly sliced
• 1 red chilli, thinly sliced
• 3 tbsp rice vinegar
• 2 tbsp caster sugar, for the relish

Method

1. For the relish, warm the rice vinegar, caster sugar and 3 tbsp water until the sugar dissolves. Cool, then pour over the cucumber, shallots and chilli.

2. Blitz a third of the corn kernels in a food processor to a rough purée.

3. Combine the purée with the remaining corn, spring onions, coriander roots, garlic, herbs, white pepper, soy sauce and sugar.

4. Stir in the rice flour, cornflour and baking powder, then add the sparkling water, mixing gently until just combined. The batter should be thick enough to hold on a spoon.

5. Heat the oil in a wide frying pan to 175°C. Drop in generous tablespoons of the mixture, flattening slightly, and fry in batches for 2 to 3 minutes on each side until golden and crisp.

6. Drain on kitchen paper and serve hot with the relish.