Salt & Pepper Corn (Jiao Yan Yu Mi)
Street-stall corn: sweet kernels fried to a golden cake, dusted with salt, pepper and a whisper of sugar.
The story
Chinese street vendors press sweet corn kernels into a hot oiled pan until they fuse into a golden cake, then dust it with salt and pepper. Sweet, salty, crispy edges, custard middle — the snack that makes you stop walking.
Ingredients (5 + pantry staples)
- Frozen or canned sweet corn, very dry — 2 cups
- Egg — 1, beaten
- Cornstarch — 3 tbsp
- Salt and white pepper — 1 tsp total (counts here)
- Scallions — 1, sliced
Pantry staples used (don't count toward the 6): cooking oil (3 tbsp), sugar (pinch). Not stocked yet? See the pantry page.
Steps
- Mix corn, egg, cornstarch, salt and pepper into a thick slurry.
- Spread into a hot oiled pan; press flat. Fry undisturbed 4–5 minutes until set and golden.
- Flip carefully (or slide onto a plate and invert back); fry 3 minutes more. Cut into wedges, scallions on top.
Swaps
Add minced jalapeño to the slurry, or dust with five-spice for the Sichuan street version.
More 20-minute dishes
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Tomato & Egg Noodle Soup (Xi Hong Shi Ji Dan Mian)
The soup version of China's national home dish — brothy, sweet-sour, 15 minutes of actual cooking.
Weeknight Mapo Tofu (Ma Po Dou Fu, simplified)
The Sichuan legend, reduced to one pan and six ingredients — numbing, spicy, spooned over rice.