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Thai Corn Fritters with Sweet Chili Sauce
Tod man khao pod are Thai corn fritters typically accompanied by nam jim kai, a sweet chili sauce. The batter often is seasoned with red curry paste and fine slivers of intensely flavorful makrut lime leaves. In our version, we use curry but swap the makrut leaves, which can be hard to source, for grated lime zest. We also add chopped scallions and crushed coriander seeds, which have earthy, citrusy notes. Thai red curry paste varies in spiciness brand to brand; we call for a range, so add as much as suits your taste. Fresh corn is best, but frozen corn also works nicely—just be sure to thaw the corn and pat it dry before using.
24
fritters
Tip
Don’t let the frying oil get too hot. Otherwise, the fritters may brown before the interior is cooked. If you don’t own an instant or deep-fry thermometer, test your oil temperature by dropping a small amount of batter into the oil; it should begin bubbling quickly, yet take a few minutes before it begins to brown.
1¼ hours
Ingredients
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3
medium garlic cloves, finely grated
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2
red Thai chilies, stemmed and thinly sliced or 1 to 2 teaspoons red pepper flakes
Directions
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01In a small saucepan, combine the garlic, chilies, sugar, vinegar, ½ cup water and ½ teaspoon salt. Bring to a boil over medium-high, stirring to dissolve the sugar, then reduce to medium and simmer, stirring occasionally, until lightly syrupy and reduced to about ¾ cup, about 15 minutes. Transfer to a jar or small bowl and cool completely. (The sauce can be covered and refrigerated for up to 1 week; bring to room temperature before serving.)
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Conceptually, this recipe was excellent. The flavors of both the fritters and the dipping sauce were delicious. With that said, I agree with Robin R.. I had exactly the same issue that the batter was way too runny and the first tablespoon was a scattered mess, but I scooped it out and ate it anyway. I needed to add another 1/2 cup of flour. Once I made the adjustment everything was fine. With these adjustments, I would definitely make this recipe again.
Hi All -
I checked in with Courtney Hill the recipe developer to see if she had any suggestions or tips. It's definitely critical to allow the flour to sit for 10 minutes to absorb the flour in order to get the texture of the batter correct. That being said, the batter texture is definitely more loose than, say, a hushpuppy batter. It's possible that, due to the summer humidity, there is more moisture in the air than when this recipe was developed back in the winter. Courtney recommends adding an additional 1/4 cup of flour to compensate but she doesn't believe you will need much more than that as long as you let the batter sit for the allotted amount of time.
Best,
The Milk Street Team
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Milk Street - Hmmmmm - is the amount of flour called for a mistake? I made the recipe exactly, waited more than the 10 minutes that was directed for the flower hydration. It didn't resemble batter at all - even runny batter. The first tablespoon was a scattered nightmare. I added a full cup of extra flour which made quite a thick batter but they were still yummy. I'm sure a smaller amount would have prouduced the right level of delicacy. Is it *really* only 1/3 cup?
Home cooks - I'd stick to the time measure (15 minutes) for the sauce vs trying to hit the 3/4 cup reduction mark. Hopefully you won't end up with an almost solid mass like I did! Worth a shot though - who doesn't love a corn fritter and the sweet/sour taste was great with it.