Chilli baby corn is a very popular Indo-Chinese dish that can be served as a snack as well as in the main course with a rice or noodle dish. It's easy to make and gets ready within 30 minutes. This dish can also be enjoyed by vegans and vegetarians.
Indo-Chinese food also known as Desi Chinese food is one of the most popular cuisines in India. You will find it everywhere, from street vendors to 5-star restaurants.
Chinese food was brought to India by the Chinese workers who came to India during the British era. Some of them settled in India permanently and over the years their food got influenced by the local ingredients, cooking techniques, and food preferences, giving birth to Indo-Chinese cuisine.
Today’s recipe – Chilli baby corn is also a Desi Chinese dish. You can enjoy this baby corn recipe either as a starter or a vegan side dish with noodles or rice.
What's needed to make chilli baby corn?
To make chili baby corn first, you need to dip baby corns in a batter and then deep fry them. For this step the following ingredients are needed:
Other ingredients needed to make this dish are shown below:
Ingredient notes:
- All-purpose flour: Instead of all-purpose flour, rice flour can also be used.
- Garlic powder: You can use minced garlic too. For more flavor onion powder, ginger powder, chili flakes, and other seasonings can also be added.
- Red chili sauce: Feel free to use any hot sauce of your choice.
How to make (step-by-step instructions)?
Step 1: Wash baby corns and cut them into bite-size pieces
Step 2: Put some salt and water in a large cooking pot. Add baby corns and boil for around 8-10 minutes.
Step 3: Once cooked strain the baby corns and keep them aside.
Step 4: In a bowl mix corn starch, all-purpose flour, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and around ½ a cup of water to make a smooth batter.
Step 5: Add boiled baby corn pieces and mix until every piece gets evenly coated in the batter.
Step 6: Heat oil in a small wok and deep fry baby corns until they turn golden brown and crunchy. Take them out on a plate covered with a thick paper kitchen towel and keep them aside.
Step 7: Heat some oil in another wok. Add chopped garlic, ginger, and white part of spring onion. Saute for a few seconds.
Step 8: Add chopped onion and bell pepper. Saute until the onion turns translucent. The vegetables should remain crunchy.
Step 9: Add salt, pepper, soy sauce, chili sauce, ketchup, and vinegar.
Step 10: Mix everything and cook for about a minute.
Step 11: Add water and let the sauce simmer.
Step 12: While the sauce is getting cooked, make corn starch slurry by mixing corn starch with some water.
Step 13: Add corn starch slurry to the simmering sauce.
Step 14: Stir continuously and cook until the sauce thickens.
Step 15: Add fried baby corns and chopped spring onion greens.
Step 16: Cook for another 1-2 minutes. Switch off the stove and garnish with more spring onion greens.
Your delicious chilli baby corn is ready to be enjoyed!
How to serve?
Serve baby corn chilli hot or warm as a snack with any Asian dipping sauce on the side.
It can also be served in the main course with a rice or noodle dish like chow mein, mushroom noodles, chili garlic noodles, corn fried rice, or mushroom rice.
Storing tips
To store, allow reaching room temperature then transfer it to an airtight container. Refrigerate for 3-4 days.
Can it be frozen?
Yes, you can freeze this baby corn dish in freezer-safe containers for 3-4 months.
Recipe tips and tricks
- Make sure the vegetables are cooked but remain crunchy.
- All sauces have salt in them so add more salt carefully and only if needed.
- While adding corn starch slurry, don't stop stirring for at least 1-2 minutes otherwise lumps will get formed in the sauce.
- For extra heat, drizzle some chili oil on top.
Frequently asked questions
Yes, this dish can be made with canned baby corn too. However, if doing that skip the step of boiling baby corn. Just drain the liquid of canned baby corn, rinse and add to the batter.
For making gluten-free chilli baby corn, use rice flour instead of all-purpose flour and replace soy sauce with tamari. Also, make sure that the hot sauce that you are using in the recipe is gluten-free.
This chili baby corn is on a slightly dry side i.e. the sauce is very thick and gets coated on the baby corns. It's also made with gravy and if you want to do that, add around 1 cup of water to the sauce instead of ½. The remaining process will stay the same.
Yes, they both are the same.
More easy vegan Asian recipes
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Recipe
Chilli baby corn
Equipment
Ingredients
Ingredients for frying baby corns
- 250 grams baby corns cut into bite-size pieces
- ¼ cup corn starch
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- 1.5 teaspoons garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper adjust to taste
- Salt to taste
- Oil for frying baby corns
- ½ cup water
Ingredients for sauce
- 1 medium-sized red onion diced into bite size pieces and layers separated
- 1 medium-sized bell pepper diced into bite size pieces
- 2-3 sprigs spring onion finely chopped, keep white and green part separated.
- 4-5 garlic cloves finely chopped
- 1 inch piece of ginger finely chopped
- 1-2 green chilies slit into 2-3 pieces each
- 1 tablespoon dark soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon red chilli sauce adjust to taste
- 1 tablespoon tomato ketchup
- 1 teaspoon white vinegar
- 2 teaspoons corn starch
- 2 tablespoons water
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper adjust to taste
- Salt to taste
- 1.5 tablespoon vegetable/ canola oil
Instructions
- Wash baby corns and cut them into bite-size pieces.
- Mix water and some salt in a large cooking pot. Add chopped baby corns and boil for 8-10 minutes.
- Once cooked, strain the baby corns and keep them aside.
- In a large bowl, mix corn starch, all-purpose flour, salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Add around ½ a cup of water and mix to make a smooth batter.
- Add boiled baby corn pieces and mix until the batter evenly coats all the pieces.
- Heat oil in a wok and deep fry baby corns until they turn golden brown and crispy. Take out on a plate lined with a thick paper kitchen towel. Keep the fried baby corns aside.
- Heat around 1.5 tablespoons of oil in a cooking pot. Add chopped garlic, ginger, and white part of spring onion. Saute for a few seconds.
- Add chopped onion and bell pepper. Stir fry for around 2-3 minutes or until the onion turns translucent. The vegetables should remain crunchy.
- Next, add salt, pepper, soy sauce, chili sauce, ketchup, and vinegar. Mix and cook for around a minute.
- Add around ¼ cup of water and let the sauce simmer.
- In a bowl, mix 2 teaspoons of corn starch with around 2 tablespoons of water to make a corn starch slurry
- Add corn starch slurry to the simmering sauce, mix and cook until the sauce thickens.
- Add fried baby corns and chopped spring onion greens. Mix and cook for 1-2 minutes.
- Garnish with chopped spring onions.
Video
Notes
- All the sauces have salt in them so add more salt carefully and only if needed.
- For more flavor, fresh cilantro can also be added.
- After adding corn starch slurry to the sauce, don't stop stirring for 1-2 minutes to avoid lump formation.
- More recipe tips and tricks are given within the post above, please follow them to make this recipe.
Excellent
Mouth watering
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Thanks Deepak 🙂